AI Video Recreations of Deceased Loved Ones Gain Traction in South Korea Amid Ethical Debates

A growing number of South Koreans are using artificial intelligence to create simulated video messages from deceased loved ones. Tech companies are producing short video clips featuring AI-generated likenesses of departed family members, which are being used to offer comfort and connection.

Lee Geon Hui, 28, commissioned a Seoul-based company called Vaice to create a video featuring his late grandfather. The AI-generated grandfather delivered a message to Lee's father, expressing affection and apologizing for past hardships. Lee reported that his father, initially hesitant, watched the video and became emotional.

Vaice's CEO, Jeongu Won, stated that the company serves approximately 300 customers monthly, primarily individuals in their 40s and 50s seeking videos of their late parents. Similar services are also being used to create videos of grandparents as gifts for their own parents. The process typically requires a few photographs and voice samples of the deceased. A basic three-to-five-minute video costs around 600,000 won (approximately $390).

These AI videos are often played during memorial rituals or major Korean holidays. Customers frequently script the messages themselves, with common themes including expressions of love and reflections on unresolved conflicts with the deceased.

While the technology offers a novel way to engage with memories of loved ones, it also sparks significant debate. Yong Man Ro, an AI expert at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, described the practice as a "double-edged sword" that brings about unprecedented cultural experiences and shocks.

Ethical and psychological concerns are being raised by observers and legal experts. Choung Wan, an emeritus professor at Seoul’s Kyung Hee University Law School, emphasized the need for urgent legislation to protect the dignity and rights of the deceased. He suggested that laws should prohibit the creation of AI versions of individuals if they expressed opposition before their death and establish clear boundaries for the commercial use of a person's image and voice.

Experts warn that simulating the dead could blur the lines between reality and the virtual world, potentially posing risks to vulnerable individuals. The prospect of "griefbots" or "deathbots" that simulate two-way conversations with AI versions of deceased loved ones is also on the horizon, with startups already experimenting with such products. Choung noted that healthy mourning typically involves acknowledging the absence of the deceased and processing grief, a process that could be undermined by ongoing interactions with AI simulations, potentially trapping bereaved families in a fantasy.

Won acknowledged the potential ethical problems with interactive chatbot services, stating that real-time conversations could be difficult to supervise. Despite these concerns, the technology is rapidly advancing, with AI likenesses becoming more detailed, replicating features like wrinkles and skin pores. While technological hurdles remain for seamless, long-duration conversations with AI, efforts are underway to improve their capabilities.

Ro shared his personal experience creating a one-minute video of his late parents, which moved his siblings. However, he noted that one viewing was sufficient, and they have since moved on, finding it enough to honor their parents' memory.