Artificial intelligence (AI) allows people to see the lives of the dead through the eyes of the deceased. AI resurrects the dead by giving them a voice and opinion, providing them with a face and creating products. However, consumer protections and how reputations live on after we die have been fundamentally disrupted by the rise of AI.
"The ability through AI to depict virtually anyone's likeness and opinions raises significant consumer protection and reputational concerns regarding how an individual’s reputation is treated post-mortem."
— Professor Mark Bartholomew, University at Buffalo School of Law
The Disruption of Post-Mortem Reputation
Traditionally, in the U.S. legal system, once an individual dies, they can no longer be subject to reputational harm. Defamation claims cease to exist with the individual. This rationale was founded on the physical limitation of one's life. AI has shattered that foundation.
When Presence Outlives Consent
AI can now recreate dead celebrities and ordinary people with astonishing accuracy. Actors deceased for years appear in new movies; voices are cloned to sell products. Bartholomew suggests a new "calculus" should recognize the right to be left to pass into the next world without unauthorized digital reanimation.
Existing privacy and property laws were intended for the living. While some protections exist—such as preventing consumer deception—they are reactive and limited. They do not address the lasting injury arising from digital resurrection without consent.
The issue is not AI itself, but the phenomenon where an audience can no longer discern between real and artificial. When we cannot determine if a person is alive or dead, our ability to make informed choices is eroded, and the memory of the deceased is altered.
Theory vs. Reality
This is happening now. Unions representing actors have litigated against posthumous credits. High-profile figures like Tom Hanks and Taylor Swift have spoken against unauthorized AI versions of themselves. For non-celebrities, companies are creating chatbots that mimic a person's voice long after they have died.
Digital resurrection may soften the pain of loss for some, but the violation of ethical rights remains. What happens if a recreation causes you to forget your actual memories of a loved one in favor of an algorithm's imitation?
The Industry of Vulnerability
The law has historically been slow to protect deceased memories because it feared a "chilling effect" on the living. However, AI is not just preserving memory; it is creating new performances under someone else's name. The real danger lies with industries profiting off vulnerability by sidestepping laws of consent and restraint.
Let the Dead Rest—and the Living Heal
While AI generates speech, it does not generate dignity. We must define "ethical" boundaries in AI that include consumer protection and property rights for those who can no longer speak for themselves. Honoring the deceased should reflect who they were, rather than recycling them for repeated commercial opportunities.
Sometimes the greatest kindness we can offer to someone grieving is allowing silence to exist in its original form. Loss reminds us of how much love meant to a person; an algorithm shouldn't be asked to replace that silence.