Postmortem avatars in grief therapy: Prospects, ethics, and governance

2026-04-13

AI Summary

This study investigates the clinical potential of posthumous digital avatars in grief therapy and the associated ethical and governance challenges. Drawing on the dual-process model of grief, continuing bonds theory, and fictionalist philosophy, it proposes two innovative therapeutic pathways: first, employing digital avatars within imaginative interventions such as empty-chair techniques; and second, utilizing the avatar creation process itself as a form of art therapy. Integrating AI-driven personalized dialogue systems, established psychotherapeutic methods, and an ethical analysis framework, this work offers the first systematic argument for the clinical feasibility of such applications while structurally addressing key ethical concerns. Findings suggest that, under professional clinical supervision, posthumous digital avatars can be ethically justifiable, though empirical research is urgently needed to validate their therapeutic efficacy and potential risks.

Technology Category

• Philosophy and Ethics of AI: Artificial General Intelligence
• Humans and AI: Game Design — Virtual Humans, NPCs and Autonomous Characters
• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics for personalization
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Fairness and ethical considerations in crowd work and in human-in-the-loop AI systems
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy

Abstract

Postmortem avatars (PMAs) -- AI systems that simulate a deceased person by being fine-tuned on data they generated or that was generated about them -- have attracted growing scholarly attention, yet their potential role in clinical settings remains largely unexplored. This paper examines the ethics of deploying PMAs as therapeutic tools in grief therapy. Drawing on the dual-process model of grief, the theory of continuing bonds, and the philosophical framework of fictionalism, we propose two potential therapeutic applications: incorporating PMAs into established imaginal exercises such as the empty chair exercise, and treating the process of PMA creation as an art-therapeutic exercise in its own right. We consider five ethical objections to these applications and argue that none constitute knock-down arguments against therapeutic use, particularly given the risk-mitigating role of the clinical context. We conclude by identifying outstanding governance challenges and calling for empirical research, without which neither the promise nor the dangers of therapeutic PMAs can be adequately assessed.

Problem

• postmortem avatars
• grief therapy
• AI ethics
• therapeutic applications
• clinical ethics

Innovation

• postmortem avatars
• grief therapy
• AI ethics
• continuing bonds
• therapeutic applications