"Research Finds Greater Societal Awareness Needed to Protect Our Privacy and Data From AI When We Die"
A study suggests raising society's awareness of "ghostbots" and including a "Do not bot me" clause in wills and other contracts to prevent people from being digitally resurrected without their permission when they die. The term "ghostbots" refers to using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create digital reincarnations of the deceased. Deepfakes, replicas, holographs, or chatbots that try to recreate the appearance, voice, and/or personality of deceased persons are examples of this. The paper "Governing Ghostbots" was recently published in the Computer Law and Security Review 2023. The research was conducted by Dr. Marisa McVey from Queen's University Belfast's School of Law, Dr. Edina Harbinja from Aston Law School, and Professor Lilian Edwards from Newcastle University Law School. With so much of people's lives being displayed on social media platforms, data collected from these sites could be used to imitate how a person talks, acts, and looks, even after they have passed away. Since deepfake technology aimed at digital reincarnation is becoming more commercialized, the study looked into ways to preserve people's privacy, including post-mortem privacy, property, personal data, and reputation. This article continues to discuss the study on ghostbots and protecting deceased people's privacy and data from AI.