Thanabots: How AI is turning grief into paid services
In brief
- Companies create chatbots from deceased individuals' digital data to simulate paid interactions.
- Prices range from €178 to €44,800 depending on service complexity.
- The industry raises ethical concerns about consent, ownership, and the lifespan of these recreations.
Companies are leveraging the digital footprints of the deceased to build conversational chatbots sold as subscription services. According to The Conversation, these "thanabots" use messages, photos, videos, and voice recordings to simulate an interactive presence, often at high prices.
Services range from simple text exchanges to high-end 3D avatars, with costs spanning from €178 to €44,800 depending on complexity. Microsoft holds a patent since 2020 for creating chatbots modeled after deceased individuals, while companies like HereAfter AI and DeepBrain AI commercialize these solutions.
This industry raises major ethical questions: who controls the recreation, how consent is managed, and what happens if the company shuts down or payments stop? Thanabots blur the line between memory and invention, challenging families and regulators alike.
This summary gives you the essentials. The full article, its figures and quotes are on The Conversation France.
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