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Case Study: Griefbots

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Is the development of “grief bots” ethical? How might this action be perceived through the

ethical lenses of utilitarianism, deontology, virtue, or ethics of care? (pick one) For

example, is there a violation of moral rights involved in the development of “griefbots”? Do

we/should we respect people’s rights even after their death?

Though the development of grief bots seek to bring a sense of remembering the deceased

through the presentation of past memories such as pictures, audio, and videos, its development

may not be ethical. This is because chatbot may blend all pieces of information about the

deceased while some information might be too private to be disclosed to the public, some family

members or children of the dead. Based on the ethics of care which uses a relational and

contextual bound method towards decision making and morality, presenting all the data about the

deceased will be unethical since some people may not be able to make an informed decision

concerning the information about the dead. Therefore, it is essential to respect people's rights

even after death which also forms the basis of care and love that people had when they were still

alive.

Is interacting with such chatbots different from watching a video or looking at photographs

of a loved one who has died? Explain your reasoning.

Though both remind us about the deceased's life, interacting with chatbots is different

because the grief bots will use artificial intelligence to chat as if it is the person who has passed

away talking to listeners. Watching videos and photos on walls like Facebook may be better than

chatbots because it presents the real information from the deceased rather than talking to

someone internally or standing at the graveside and assuming a chat with a headstone. Therefore,

interacting with a chatbot will be different from watching videos because, in chatbots, one will
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just be taking feedback from the deceased, unlike social media platforms that provide the actual

image and voice.

Are griefbots different from “virtual duets”? If so, in what way(s)?

Grief bots are indeed different from virtue duets because grief bots are just like chatbots

that operate by stimulating conversation. It can determine the user's intent and respond in the

form of photo, video, text, voice and emojis. Also, grief bots are used by users to reply by

selecting an option from the screen or voice. In most cases, grief bots accept texts for interactions

and are more concerned with messaging applications. On the other hand, Virtue duets are

intelligent helper that services from the point of third parties on behalf of the consumers and

relies on context.

Should consent be required from the people who might be memorialized in this way?

People should be consented to the way they will be memorialized because as much as it is

technology, it can be improperly used by untargeted people without good consent. Beyond, this

action can hurt the deceased and the family's feelings; therefore, it is important to consent the

people.