Ep. 338: COMMON GROUND: AI Grief Bots - Solving Grief or Distorting it?

This is the first of a series of episodes that feature opposing sides of a hot topic. Today it’s the a tech entrepreneur who founded a grief bot service vs a cyberpsychologist specializing in the ethics of death & the digital. We ask, is this healing or avoidance? Can the dead consent to this? What is the potential for harm? John Kammer is the founder of Guardian A[I]ngels, a subscription service that sends you journal prompts in the voice of your deceased loved one.  Elaine Kasket, PhD, is cyberpsychologist & Visiting Professor at the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath in the UK & the author of Reset: Rethinking Your Digital World for a Happier Life& All the Ghosts in the Machine: The Digital Afterlife of Your Personal Data. You’ll hear why John created the service while Elaine lays out potential for harm & how they ultimately find common ground.  If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 300: BIOFIELD THERAPY FOR ANXIETY & GRIEF: RECIPE FOR WELLNESS OR PURCHASED PLACEBO?Elaine Kasket, PhD:Reset book: https://a.co/d/081uhN8r https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-your-life-on-tech/id1666800931https://www.elainekasket.com/ https://www.instagram.com/elainekasket/https://www.facebook.com/elainekasketauthor John Kammer:https://guardianaingels.ai/ https://www.instagram.com/guardian_aingels/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575970961536  Sponsors: https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/ https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/  01:35 — “This feels like Black Mirror”02:21 — The biggest risks of AI grief tools04:23 — Pain to purpose: the origin story06:15 — Why “time heals all wounds” is a myth09:10 — The moment AI made him finally cry13:41 — The danger of “never letting go”18:45 — Why it shouldn’t feel too real20:05 — The 4 tasks of mourning explained25:49 — What is “AI-associated psychosis”?31:00 — Why reminders of death are essential38:24 — Why this runs on ChatGPT (and why that matters)41:00 — Guarding against manipulation loops44:19 — What grieving people should actually know52:08 — The ethics of reviving the dead53:12 — Memory vs. identity: what’s being recreated?Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/Follow me in all the places:https://www.meredithforreal.com/  https://www.instagram.com/the_curiousintrovert/ [email protected]://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal https://www.facebook.com/curiousintrovert