Would you personally be open to the idea of having an AI companion and/or a “deadbot” replica of a loved one?

👍 Yes (11%) – "I want my daughter to "get to know" her grandfather, who unfortunately died before she was born. I have, of course, talked about him, and shown her photos, but for him to "come to life" would be mind-blowing."

• "I would give anything to have conversations with my husband dead or alive. I would understand the difference. He’s been dead 12 years but I would cherish that time together. I think it’s a wonderful thing. No one can understand it except the person that may want to participate in such encounter. It’s not for anyone else to judge or decide."

👎 No (75%) – "There is no replacing the people I love; to attempt to do so, while an understandable impulse, does the real person a disservice. It's not a bad thing to sit with your grief, even though it's hard. Fending it off with something that's fake and meant to fill a void seems to me like sinking into and staying in denial."

• "Grief is such a weird thing, I think if I had been asked years ago when the wound was still fresh, I would’ve said yes. I don’t think it’ll help though, the biggest issue I’ve had is realized that he’d never get to be any older, never get to change his haircut or find a job he loves or get a new favorite outfit or restaurant and an AI clone wouldn’t be able to do it for him either. No matter how close they can get it, it still wouldn’t be him."

"This creates a really interesting factor in the grieving process but it's clear we don't fully understand how it really impacts people. Personally, this seems more likely to unhealthily extend the grieving process, dishonor the dead person's memory by attributing words or conversations to them that they never said, and bring up troublesome legal/permission issues. I'm willing to consider the pros if further research signifies benefits to this and people's permission can be obtained before their death, but in it's absence I very much dislike this idea."

• "I believe humanity is already too obsessed with technology. What happens when the internet crashes or there is an extended power outage? We should be focusing more on rebuilding interpersonal human connections."

"The idea of having an AI companion or a "deadbot" replica of a loved one can be psychologically complex and potentially unhealthy for several reasons: Emotional dependency, stunted emotional growth, unrealistic expectations, and most importantly, avoidance of grief. I would rather deal with the grief in real time. I believe having this type of companion will not allow for healing. If they become obsessed with this artificial companion, they ultimately avoid or have interference with real relationships which we find many cases with youth brought up with smart phones and other technology."

• "Death is part of what makes life special. As a society we need to be doing a better job at cultivating a healthy perspective with death, and dead-bots seem like moving in the opposite direction. Grieving helps you grow, but a dead bot may stop that natural process in its tracks."

🤷 Unsure/other (14%) – "Me personally, no. It would be too strange for me. I think maybe seeing a moving video/ picture of my grandparents could be cool, but I wouldn’t want to interact. However, I don’t have a problem with it, and I can see how it might be helpful for some people, or being comfort/peace."

• "I understand how there’s a lot of different ways people cope with grief, some involving keeping the remains of your loved one encased in a decorative urn or even jewelry to wear on your body. Perhaps this new method can be a new way to provide closure and remain in a comfortable place of remembering a loved one, much like how a photo album or voice recording can. However, the one thing I just severely doubt is the accuracy of replicating a real human. ChatBots are meant to replicate the behavior and speech patterns of what a machine thinks a human sounds like. This proposed human doesn’t exist, so most people are able to feel only mildly uncomfortable with the concept of a screen talking to them. But the steep expectation of replicating a real human with a history, family, friends, and unique experiences is something that I doubt can be accomplished without being insensitive or inaccurate."