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Conversation from Beyond the Grave? A Neo‐Confucian Ethics of Chatbots of the Dead
Author(s) -
Elder Alexis
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of applied philosophy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.339
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1468-5930
pISSN - 0264-3758
DOI - 10.1111/japp.12369
Subject(s) - conversation , argument (complex analysis) , context (archaeology) , skepticism , grief , style (visual arts) , sociology , epistemology , variety (cybernetics) , psychology , environmental ethics , aesthetics , philosophy , literature , psychotherapist , history , computer science , art , biochemistry , chemistry , archaeology , communication , artificial intelligence
Digital records, from chat transcripts to social media posts, are being used to create chatbots that recreate the conversational style of deceased individuals. Some maintain that this is merely a new form of digital memorial, while others argue that they pose a variety of moral hazards. To resolve this, I turn to classical Chinese philosophy to make use of a debate over the ethics of funerals and mourning. This ancient argument includes much of interest for the contemporary issue at hand, including the use of impersonators of the dead to help the bereaved to deal well with their grief. I connect this historical discussion with a modern trend in clinical psychology that reframes therapeutic interventions with bereaved individuals. The trend directs practitioners away from facilitating detachment and toward affirming continuing bonds. I conclude that these chatbots can offer an important source of support to mourners, but also discuss parameters and features of social context that will be important to avoid the moral hazards identified by sceptics.