Can AI 'bring back' the dead? Debating the use of tech in the grieving process

Is it possible to recreate a dead person through artificial intelligence? Some experts are weary of how the tech could be used in the grieving process.

Could artificial intelligence help us grieve lost loved ones by recreating their voices and likeness after death?

Tech experts and grief therapists are debating that idea after a suggestion that technology designed to emulate dead people could soon be available to the wider public sparked discussion and controversy on Twitter.

"Start regularly recording your parents, elders and loved ones," U.S.-based computer scientist Pratik Desai tweeted on April 8, a post that has since been viewed more than 11 million times. "With enough transcript data, new voice synthesis and video models, there is a 100% chance that they will live with you forever after leaving physical body. This should be even possible by end of the year."

A number of replies criticized Desai’s suggestion, with some calling it "unhealthy and dystopian." Others pointed to an unsettling episode of the Netflix sci-fi series "Black Mirror," in which a character communicates with AI-generated impressions of her dead boyfriend.

Desai later replied to the criticism, saying he watched the "Black Mirror" episode. "I get it now. It's a very personal issue and I sincerely apologize for hurting anyone's feeling," he tweeted.

As AI becomes more integrated in our daily lives – with increasing popularity of chatbots as the most recent example -- experts have mixed feelings about how tech could harm or benefit the grieving process.

Richard Khoury, the president of the Canadian Artificial Intelligence Association (CAIAC) believes advancements in AI tech make impersonating dead people possible, but not entirely truthful.