AI Grief Chatbots

For families suffering from the loss of their loved ones, grief chatbots (聊天机器人) can now help them still feel connected to the dead and find support in the digital world.

Since 2022, Super Brain, an artificial intelligence (AI) company based in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, has created digital avatars (化身) for more than 600 families.

“Technically, digital immortality (永生) is coming...which will enable everyone to have a virtual (虚拟的) online twin,” said Zhang Zewei, co-founder of the AI company.

While creating digital avatars of those who have passed away, Zhang notes that the company has also helped over 100 clients (客户) in making their virtual avatars from their digital trails (痕迹) such as emails, photos and social media posts. The prices for the services can be from thousands of yuan to 10,000 yuan.

Among Zhang’s clients are parents missing their only child, a woman wanting to say goodbye to her boyfriend who died in an accident, and a mother wanting to “revive (复活)” her husband to comfort their daughter.

While the idea might seem strange to some, Zhang believes that because of the emotional support the technology offers, those dealing with regret and loneliness following the loss of their loved ones are attracted to the technology.

However, he’s still unsure about how much of a connection that technology can offer. “A chatbot has no warmth,” he argued, pointing out that these avatars cannot stay up to date with the latest information.

Tech experts and psychologists are also expressing worries. Wang Qiang, a psychologist in Beijing said that these “griefbots” could make people feel like they have a real emotional connection with the dead. But in fact, it could make people feel emotionally and mentally worse, making it challenging for them to move on.