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Digital immortality and ethical correctness: (Master thesis)

Μπάτζιου, Γεωργία/ Batziou, Georgia/ Βιοηθική

This master’s thesis explores the social, psychological, existential and ethical dimensions of emerging “Digital Immortality” technologies and the algorithmic simulation of loss through Artificial Intelligence applications (Griefbots). Focusing on how modern technology attempts to reshape the process of mourning and grief, the study examines the receptivity, resistance and dilemmas of the bereaved facing the idea of interactively preserving their deceased loved ones digitally. In the first part of the thesis, the theoretical background is developed and structured around three main axes. Initially, foundational philosophical approaches to memory, the soul and immortality are examined as reflected and analyzed in Plato’s philosophy regarding recollection and the eternity of the soul, and Aristotle’s views on memory and the immortality of the soul. Proust’s concept of “involuntary memory” is analyzed as the only authentic revival of the past, while Heidegger’s phenomenology is employed to distinguish authentic existence from algorithmic simulation. Subsequently, classic and contemporary psychological approaches are analyzed, ranging from Freud’s “mourning work” and the need for emotional detachment to the theory of “Continuing Bonds” and Neimeyer’s “Meaning Reconstruction”. Great importance is given to the immortality of the soul as perceived through the lens of religions such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianism, while the interview of Anthimos adds significant depth to this analysis. Finally, the operation of Griefbots, the psychological phenomenon of “Uncanny Valley”, the management of post-mortem privacy and the ethical rights of the deceased over their data are studied. The second part of this thesis, the empirical study, was based on conducting four qualitative in-depth interviews with participants who possess diverse experiential and demographic characteristics: - A 49-year-old cytologist with losses of parents, grandparents and his best friend due to chronic illness - A 22-year-old student belonging to Gen Z with the sudden loss of his stepfather and the living grief for his biological father - A 48-year-old mother with the acute trauma of her husband’s instant death in a road accident and - A mother, artist and head of an international road victim association with the loss of her 20-year-old son in a road accident. The findings reveal a brad convergence regarding the deconstruction of “algorithmic consciousness”, as all participants agree that digital traces fail to convey the ontological presence and the soul of a human being. Concurrently, strong fear was expressed regarding the risk of emotional captivity and pathological fixation on the past. On the other hand, a significant divergence was identified concerning the utility of AI. While in the second and third cases Griefbots were categorically rejected as “terrifying illusion”, in the first case they were considered a comforting bridge that can soothe grief and inn the fourth case an ambiguous reading of the bot was proposed as a temporary “transitional object” to de-escalate the initial shock. The thesis concludes that authentic antidotes to trauma of loss are not found in algorithmic simulation, but in grounded existential pillars, such as artistic sublimation, collective social struggle, religious metaphor, the biological continuity of future generations and the conscious choice of interpersonal bonds. The true memory of the deceased remains alive through the lived experience and action of the survivors, transcending the limits of machine algorithms.