A University of Cambridge researcher predicts that by 2030, AI technology will allow people to interact with digital avatars of deceased loved ones almost 24/7, potentially reducing visits to cemeteries.

Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska, a specialist in digital death and mourning, warns that while these “digital afterlife” tools—already emerging in the US, China, and companies like Replika and StoryFile—could create a form of digital immortality, they may also disrupt grieving, raise privacy concerns, and commercialize personal data.

She emphasizes that the emotional and ethical consequences of interacting with AI-generated representations of the dead remain uncertain, the Daily Star has reported.