A recent discovery made the headlines online – In 2017, Microsoft patented a chatbot so advanced that, if built, it would be capable of resurrecting the dead. That means that the chatbot would use AI and machine learning to bring back somebody’s digital persona to chat with friends and family.
When people insisted on the subject, Microsoft officials stated that the chatbot was “disturbing” and that there are no plans to put it into production.
However, it looks like the technical tools and resources combined with user data are at a point where they can make digital reincarnations possible.
AI chatbots have passed the “Turing Test” for a while now, meaning that they can fool many people that they are humans, too.
In the meantime, most of us leave behind more than enough data to teach AI algorithms our conversational and cognitive patterns.
Producing digital doubles or extensions of ourselves may not be such a far-fetched idea anymore.
At the moment, there are no laws regarding digital reincarnation. Your right to data privacy after your demise is far from being a dependable concept, so there is no way to prevent being digitally resurrected at the moment.
Research carried by Sciencealert looked into the legal question regarding what happens to your personal data after death.
In the absence of important legislation, it’s unclear who may or may not have the ability to reboot your digital persona soon after you die.
Microsoft chatbot would work in a matter that would similarly generate electronic messages you would.. if you were alive.
