Artificial Intelligence has a large number of implications that go far beyond the best known, such as writing texts or creating graphic material. In recent months, an intense debate has emerged that may have different aspects to consider from a moral and even legal perspective: digital resurrection. In countries like China, there are already companies specialized in this type of solutions, so it is a matter of time before they reach our borders.
In the year 2013, Black Mirror already anticipated the concept of digital resurrection in the chapter I’ll be right back. The protagonist of it wanted to rely on AI-based software to generate new conversations with her boyfriend, who died in a traffic accident. A scenario that at that time sounded somewhat futuristic and, in a way, also unreal. However, it has currently become one of the great debates that revolve around the scientific and technological community.
The digital resurrection is the phenomenon that refers to the possibility of revive dead people through technology. Currently, there are already companies in regions such as Asia that allow us to exchange WhatsApp messages with deceased relatives or friends, see images of them and interact in different formats. A reality that represents a new demonstration of the technology advancement and which, in addition, opens an intense debate around the moral and even legal implications of such a business model.
The impact on memory
Human memory is not a static property capable of selecting the memories that will be linger in our minds. It is a function of the organism that is characterized by being dynamic and that also allows the brain to encode, store and recover information from the past. And, furthermore, over time it evolves and memories follow one another, taking into account all kinds of attributes that can alter them for very heterogeneous reasons.
It is precisely the natural behavior of memory that is one of the reasons that has caused the emergence of an ethical debate which deals with the impact that the recreation of deceased people can have on our memories. Although at first it may be considered that digital resurrection will only be an act that can help preserve our memories of a deceased close person, the reality could be very different. Even today, it is unknown if our memory could consider memories, both real and those generated through Artificial intelligence, under the same label. Or if, on the contrary, they would be differentiated.
In the event that the Artificial intelligence is evolved enough for us to confuse whether it is a digital representation or a real person, it is possible that people may end up forgetting the memories we have about an ancestor, replacing them with digital representations.
quality memories
Our memory is not made up of one succession of representations that follow each other, which is the main proposal of Artificial Intelligence. Aspects such as the feelings we experience when we share moments with a person, the emotions that arise when interacting with them or enjoying certain experiences together, as well as the spontaneous conversations that give rise to memories that last forever in our lives. memory.
Exposing ourselves to a chatbot that pretends to be a deceased person that we can even video call can compromise our health. integrity of these memories and that they are replaced by digital experiences that, although they may be very elaborate in terms of voice and image, should not come close to the feelings that arise from human interaction itself.
Personality vs image
Until now, we have talked about the memories and image of people, addressing the issue from a perspective based purely on aesthetics and image. However, there is a second perspective that has as much or more impact than the previous one: the personality of the individuals. Beyond our physical traits, the personality of each of us is the aspect that really makes us different and one of the main aspects that make us have a greater affinity with other people. Being an element that is key to creating all our personal relationships.
We can capture the aesthetic features of a person in an Artificial Intelligence model that is responsible for developing our image. But what happens when we have to define the person’s personality? Is it going to be possible for the same model to interpret all the information we are telling it and translate it into the final result? And, as human beings that we are, what about objectivity? Are we going to define our friend or family member from a 100% objective point of view? Or are we going to take it upon ourselves, even unconsciously, to highlight its most positive aspects and try to reduce, even eliminate, those that conflict with our character?
Up to this point, we have addressed some of the main questions that may arise once companies such as those mentioned continue to develop and perfect their business models. However, there remain many ethical questions to be resolved that would give rise to many more reflections. Like, for example, who has the power to digitally revive to a person without them being able to really express their consent to be resuscitated. At the same time, a much deeper question also arises, such as that related to grief: Who would want to expose themselves to the painful grief that people must go through when we suffer the death of a loved one, if we have the possibility of avoiding this toll by taking the shortcut of the digital resurrection?
While these types of doubts arise and open new ethical debates, different companies from territories such as Asia are already offering this service. Leaving aside this perspective, there is no doubt that Artificial Intelligence continues to evolve and impact areas of our lives that until not long ago we considered science fiction. The fact that large technology companies are betting on the growth of this business model is a good indicator of the penetration that these companies are having in their respective markets. It remains to be seen when these companies will address their expansion and land on our borders and what society’s response will be in this regard.
