A new study revealed something that might seem extraordinary at first glimpse. The digital world could revive the dead. Check out the latest reports about this below.
Digital world could revive the dead
Recent research has delved into the general public’s opinions about the digital resurrection of people who have passed away, based on their consent.
The study presented participants with different scenarios where a digital version of a woman could be revived, with or without her consent. The results showed a significant shift in people’s acceptance of the idea when consent was given, indicating the importance of the deceased’s wishes.
However, many respondents still found the concept of digital resurrection to be socially unacceptable, even if consent was given.
This study raises significant ethical and legal questions about the rights of the deceased and emphasizes the need for clear regulations in the digital age. In 2017, a company named Eternime attempted to create an avatar of a deceased person using their digital footprint, but this “Skype for the dead” didn’t gain much popularity since the machine-learning and AI algorithms were not advanced enough.
Now, in 2024, with the widespread use of Chat GPT-like programs, similar efforts are being made, raising the question of whether digital resurrection should be permitted at all.
In the future, legal battles may arise around the issue of what constitutes consent when it comes to digital resurrection.
Dr. Masaki Iwasaki, an assistant professor at Seoul National University and a former Harvard Law School researcher, has explored how the deceased’s consent, or lack thereof, influences opinions on digital resurrection in a report published in the Asian Journal of Law and Economics.
“You, Only Virtual” (YOV) is a service that allows users to create a chatbot called a “versona” by uploading someone’s text messages, emails, and voice conversations.
In 2020, Microsoft received a patent for creating chatbots from text, voice, and image data for both living people and historical figures and fictional characters, which can be rendered in 2D or 3D. In future studies, Iwasaki plans to explore the digital resurrection of celebrities as well as this topic.
“It’s necessary first to discuss what rights should be protected, to what extent, then create rules accordingly,” he explains.
“My research, building upon prior discussions in the field, argues that the opt-in rule requiring the deceased’s consent for digital resurrection might be one way to protect their rights.”
Check out more about the mind-blowing study in the original notes.
