In 2020, a Korean documentary team created a digitized re-creation of a mother’s 7-year-old daughter who had died from an incurable disease. The virtual reality experience allowed the mother to see and interact with the virtual girl, Na-yeon. The show received 19 million views, and while it was painful, the mother expressed that she would do it again as it gave her a chance to say goodbye. The use of artificial intelligence and virtual reality has brought us closer to connecting with the dead, fulfilling a fundamental need for humans to keep a connection with those they loved. Efforts such as creating digital personas and chatbots using data from the deceased’s digital footprint have also been made. These technologies offer therapeutic benefits but also raise questions about addiction and the potential for remaining in a virtual world. Overall, the technology contributes to holding on to relationships differently and using them as a resource for grief processing.
| Signal | Change | 10y horizon | Driving force |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual reality allows mother to say goodbye to deceased daughter | Use of virtual reality to facilitate post-death communication | More advanced virtual reality technology, increased acceptance and accessibility | Desire for connection and closure with deceased loved ones |
| Artificial intelligence and virtual reality bring the dead back to life | Advancements in AI and VR allow for the creation of digital personas of deceased individuals | More realistic and interactive digital representations of deceased loved ones | Human desire to maintain connections with deceased loved ones |
| Technology allows for the creation of digital entities from a person’s digital footprint | Ability to create digital personas from a person’s online activity | Increased ability to preserve and interact with the digital legacies of loved ones | Desire to leave a lasting legacy and maintain connections with future generations |
| Amazon develops feature for Alexa to read stories in a deceased loved one’s voice | AI technology enables virtual assistant to mimic deceased loved one’s voice | Ability to hear deceased loved ones’ voices through AI technology | Desire to preserve and remember the voices of deceased loved ones |
| Entrepreneurs create virtual representations of deceased loved ones using AI and data | Use of AI and data to create avatars or chatbots of deceased individuals | More personalized and interactive digital representations of deceased loved ones | Desire to maintain relationships and memories with deceased loved ones |
| Virtual copies of lost loved ones can be therapeutic, but may lead to addiction | Virtual recreations of deceased loved ones can provide solace, but may become addictive | Increased use of virtual recreations for grief therapy | Human desire for attachment and connection with loved ones, even after death. |