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Abstract:
Postmortem avatars (PMAs), otherwise known as “griefbots,” refer to chatbots designed to mimic the behaviour of specific deceased individuals. This talk aims to initiate discussion and debate as to the moral permissibility of “therapeutic” PMAs, a term I use to refer to those PMAs (a) whose use is recommended, prescribed, mediated, and/or supervised by a healthcare professional; and (b) that are explicitly used therapeutic goals in mind (e.g. to assist patients in regulating difficult emotions associated with grief, or easing symptoms of grief-related anxiety or depression). I do this by using Kurzweil and Story’s (2025) recently developed “theater framework” to argue for the pro tanto moral permissibility of therapeutic PMAs in at least some cases. I conclude by highlighting some unresolved ethical complexities associated with the design and regulation of PMAs that warrant further research from bioethicists and philosophers.
Speaker:
This event is related to TAIGAS theme Power and AI.