
AI and Life After Death: Griefbots, Digital Ghosts, and the New Afterlife Economy
From The People's AI: The Decentralized AI Podcast by Jeff Wilser
December 17, 2025 · 53 min · Season 3 · Episode 3
About this episode
This episode explores the rise of grief tech and the implications of AI in grieving processes.
Can AI help us grieve, or does it blur the line between comfort and delusion in ways we’re not ready for? In this episode of The People’s AI, we explore the rise of grief tech: “griefbots,” AI avatars, and “digital ghosts” designed to simulate conversations with deceased loved ones. We start with Justin Harrison, founder of You, Only Virtual, whose near-fatal motorcycle accident and his mother’s terminal cancer diagnosis led him to build a “Versona,” a virtual version of a person’s persona. W...
People in this episode
Host: Jeff Wilser
Guest: Justin Harrison
Topics covered
- grief technology
- AI avatars
- digital ghosts
- afterlife economy
- conversations with deceased
Keywords
- griefbots
- digital ghosts
- AI in grief
- virtual persona
- afterlife technology
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: You, Only Virtual
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