AI 'grief bots' helping people chat with lost loved ones
15 Jun 2025

A new trend in artificial intelligence (AI) is the development of "grief bots" or "dead bots."

These are basically large language models (LLMs) trained to mimic the speech and personality of deceased individuals.

The technology, part of a larger field known as "grief tech," ranges from chatbots to realistic 3D avatars.

Start-ups like Project December, StoryFile, and You Only Virtual are leading this controversial movement.

Can these bots really help? Experts raise concerns
Ethical concerns

While these AI simulations can provide closure for some, they also raise ethical concerns.

Interacting with these bots and avatars can be unpredictable and unsettling.

Hans Block, a film director, highlighted the vulnerability of users seeking closure through this technology in an interview for the documentary Eternal, You.

He also raised concerns over privacy issues, such as using private data to train these models.

You Only Virtual's Versonas can be integrated with robots
Personal connection

Justin Harrison, founder and CEO of You Only Virtual, offers a different perspective on this technology.

His start-up creates AI-powered audio versions of people called Versonas that users can talk to.

Harrison's first Versona was based on his mother after she was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.

He believes these conversations provide an unquantifiable help in times of need, envisioning a future where Versonas could be integrated with realistic robots.

Video avatar of loved ones
Technological advancement

StoryFile is taking the evolution of grief bots a step further. The company creates AI-powered video avatars of deceased loved ones, allowing for conversations similar to Zoom calls.

They also make interactive AI-generated videos for museums and art foundations.

In the future, they plan to launch an app that lets users create their own avatar by uploading emails, social media posts, and other background information about a person.