When AI Revives the Dead: Grief, Capitalism and True Crime (Interview with Dr. Jenny Kidd & Dr. Bethan Jones (Cardiff University))

What if you could chat with someone who's no longer alive? It sounds dystopian, but several websites already offer their customers to create so-called deathbots - AI avatars of deceased people. I talked to Dr. Jenny Kidd and Dr. Bethan Jones (Cardiff University) about the ethics of digital afterlives, how AI could change our ways of grieving and our attitudes towards death in general, and how true crime victims are exploited with AI deathbots.00:00 - 04:15: Introduction04:16 - 16:16: MyHeritage's Deep Nostalgia tool & the ethics of bringing old family photos to life with AI16:17 - 19:09: Is "The Substance" becoming a reality thanks to AI?19:10 - 26:09: How to influence your own commemoration with a pre-mortem avatar26:10 - 32:27: How authentic are these avatars?32:28 - 36:26: Grief & capitalism36:27 - 40:54: AI & the exploitation of true crime victims40:55 - 44:09: Deathbots giving testimony in court44:10 - 48:47: Will AI change how we grieve?48:48 - 55:26: Reviving serial killers and holocaust victims with AI55:27 - 01:01:28: Jenny's and Bethan's current & future projectsYou can follow Bethan on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:7cwwdtps5lzr7gwsbfbxyuzs and on her website: https://bethanvjones.wordpress.com/And you can follow Jenny on her website: https://profiles.cardiff.ac.uk/staff/kiddjc2 and on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-kidd-92999638a/?originalSubdomain=uk