Communicating with the Deceased via AI: Research Yields Unexpected Results

Modern technologies are offering new ways to deal with humanity's most delicate emotions, including the pain of loss. A new experiment conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado (Boulder) showed that people not only accept communicating with AI-generated digital copies of deceased loved ones but that this process also creates a strong emotional bond. This is reported by Ixbt.com news says.

The study involved 16 volunteers aged 22 to 50, each of whom had lost a close relative or friend. In sessions conducted via the Zoom platform, "digital reconstructions" of the deceased were created in real-time using Large Language Models (LLM) based on memories of the departed. This technology was described in the ixbt.com publication as "generated ghosts."

The Importance of First-Person Speech

During the experiment, participants tried two different communication methods. In the first variant, the AI spoke on behalf of the deceased, in the first person (e.g., "I remember when we went to the beach"). In the second variant, information was provided in the third person ("He loved going to the beach"). The results showed that people prefer feeling as if they are talking to the deceased person themselves, and the first-person perspective has a greater emotional impact.

Interestingly, users were willing to overlook some factual errors made by the AI. However, errors in linguistic nuances and nicknames immediately caused a negative reaction. For example, one participant immediately stopped the communication when the AI addressed them in a way that was not characteristic of the deceased. This implies that for people, the unique speech style of the deceased is more important than the facts.

Digital Copies and Future Risks

Commercial services such as Project December and HereAfterAI already offer services to create digital copies of deceased people. While these technologies may provide comfort to grieving individuals, study participants also expressed serious concerns. They believe such systems could lead to strong psychological attachment and dependency.

The research group has now begun a new phase in collaboration with mental health specialists. The goal is to study the long-term impact and therapeutic potential of such "digital ghosts" on the human psyche. This indicates that AI is moving beyond being just an information tool to a new stage of simulating social and emotional connections.

In the context of Uzbekistan, such technologies are bound to cause significant ethical and religious debates in the future. Nevertheless, global technological trends confirm that the boundaries of communication between humans and machines are increasingly disappearing.