As China observes its annual tomb-sweeping festival, a new trend emerges where people are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to remember and revive their departed loved ones.

Through online services, Chinese netizens can create digital avatars of their ancestors for as little as 20 yuan (£2.20).

At the forefront of this trend is the use of AI to recreate deceased individuals, such as Taiwanese singer Bao Xiaobai, who used AI to “resurrect” his late daughter by creating a video of her singing, despite having only an audio recording of her voice.

The interest in digital clones coincides with China’s expanding AI industry, particularly in human-like avatars, with the market size for “digital humans” estimated at 12 billion yuan in 2022 and expected to quadruple by 2025.

The tomb-sweeping festival provides a unique opportunity for this technology, with one software developer claiming to have helped over 600 families “reunite” with their departed loved ones this year alone, the Guardian reported.

However, the use of AI to recreate deceased individuals has sparked controversy, with some arguing that it should be regulated to prevent mental anguish for the relatives.

Despite these concerns, China’s digital natives continue to experiment with digital afterlives, potentially outpacing policymakers’ ability to regulate them.

Written by B.C. Begley