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A lost loved one who ‘lives on’ as a griefbot. AI as an elixir of life. What does this mean for our social relationships, and how we view mortality? NWO (the Dutch Research Council) has awarded Hanan de Sain, currently a lecturer in Cultural Anthropology, a PhD scholarship to investigate these questions.

“As a student, I was already drawn to anthropological studies of death. So when I heard about the Mozaïek 2.0 scholarship programme in December 2023 through my thesis supervisor Marlene Schäfers and professor Rebecca Bryant, I knew I wanted to apply for a PhD project focused on death and mourning,” says Hanan. One minor detail: the application required not only a research proposal, but also a degree certificate. “At the time, I was still finishing my master’s. Thankfully, I was able to graduate quickly – I’m still incredibly grateful to everyone who made that possible.” After completing her degree, Hanan started working as a lecturer, and earlier this spring she received the news that NWO had awarded her the scholarship.
Immortality

Griefbots may be new, but the desire to hold onto loved ones – or at least a representation of them – is not, Hanan explains. “In the past, people had portraits painted of deceased loved ones. Later, photography took on that role. Today, we see people sending WhatsApp messages to the dead or revisiting memorialised Facebook pages. AI takes this one step further: now you can have a lifelike visual and even interact with a digital version of the person who has passed.” Hanan has already explored a wide range of these emerging technologies. “Some people want to live on as a chatbot because they wish to become immortal. Others recreate the voice of a deceased parent in order to keep talking to them.”

What does it mean when commercial tech companies decide how we get to encounter our dead after death?

Your deceased mum at your wedding

“But what happens when the representation of the deceased talks back? How does that change our mourning practices? And what impact does it have on our social relationships? Imagine your deceased mother appearing as a deepfake at a family event – what role does such a griefbot play in that setting? And why do we even want our dead to live on through AI?” These are the kinds of questions Hanan will explore through ethnographic research – both among Dutch users of these technologies and among their developers. She also has ethical concerns: “What does it mean when commercial tech companies decide how we get to encounter our dead after death?”

AI in grief therapy

Finally, Hanan hopes to speak with a psychologist who uses AI in grief therapy. “Instead of traditional roleplay, she uses deepfake technology, allowing bereaved individuals to ask questions to the deceased one more time. I’m curious about how this is implemented, what kind of technology is used, and what ideas about the afterlife are embedded in these practices.”