If the dead could speak, what would they say? One family used AI to create an avatar version of a man who was killed in a tragic incidence of road rage, so that he could speak at the trial of the man who killed him. The family chose to use the avatar to offer forgiveness and honor the life of the man who was killed … but they could have had the avatar say anything else. The story sparked a lot of controversy because it raised some difficult questions about what we owe those who have died and whether it’s ethical to literally put words into their mouths after they have left us.
The implications of this are more profound than just offering a voice in court. What if abandoned children could create an avatar of a deceased parent to offer them that explanation they never received in real life? Or for a spouse to have their departed partner retell a story or experience differently from how it actually happened? Memory itself could become fluid if avatars of the departed are used in this way. Yet the therapeutic benefits of giving people closure and helping the living to move on with their lives are undeniable too. What do you think about this?
