# Generative Ghosts: Anticipating Benefits and Risks of AI Afterlives

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.01662 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.01662/

## Key facts

- Cited by 15 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 16 of its 130 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 14 Jan 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 16 of 16)

- [Hierarchical Text-Conditional Image Generation with CLIP Latents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.06125/) (2022)
- [Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.03442/) (2023)
- [Constitutional AI: Harmlessness from AI Feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.08073/) (2022)
- [Sparks of Artificial General Intelligence: Early experiments with GPT-4](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.12712/) (2023)
- [Make-A-Video: Text-to-Video Generation without Text-Video Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.14792/) (2022)
- [The Dawn of LMMs: Preliminary Explorations with GPT-4V(ision)](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.17421/) (2023)
- [AudioLM: a Language Modeling Approach to Audio Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.03143/) (2022)
- [Scalable Extraction of Training Data from (Production) Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.17035/) (2023)
- [Sociotechnical Safety Evaluation of Generative AI Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.11986/) (2023)
- [GenAI Against Humanity: Nefarious Applications of Generative Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.00737/) (2023)
- [Mirages: On Anthropomorphism in Dialogue Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.09800/) (2023)
- [Scientists' Perspectives on the Potential for Generative AI in their Fields](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.01420/) (2023)
- [Mimetic Models: Ethical Implications of AI that Acts Like You](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.09394/) (2022)
- [Archives and AI: An Overview of Current Debates and Future Perspectives](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.01117/) (2021)
- [Tending Unmarked Graves: Classification of Post-mortem Content on Social Media](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.05326/) (2019)
- [From Personal Data to Digital Legacy: Exploring Conflicts in the Sharing, Security and Privacy of Post-mortem Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.07807/) (2021)

## Built on by (most cited first, 15 of 15)

- [Simulacra as Conscious Exotica](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.12422/) (2024)
- [A Pragmatic View of AI Personhood](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.26396/) (2025)
- [AI and the Future of Digital Public Squares](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.09988/) (2024)
- [Emotions in the Loop: A Survey of Affective Computing for Emotional Support](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.01542/) (2025)
- ["Death" of a Chatbot: Investigating and Designing Toward Psychologically Safe Endings for Human-AI Relationships](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.07193/) (2026)
- [Future You: Designing and Evaluating Multimodal AI-generated Digital Twins for Strengthening Future Self-Continuity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.06106/) (2025)
- [Modeling Real-Time Interactive Conversations as Timed Diarized Transcripts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.13203/) (2024)
- [The Making of Digital Ghosts: Designing Ethical AI Afterlives](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.20094/) (2025)
- [Simulating Life Paths with Digital Twins: AI-Generated Future Selves Influence Decision-Making and Expand Human Choice](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.05397/) (2025)
- [Words to Describe What I'm Feeling: Exploring the Potential of AI Agents for High Subjectivity Decisions in Advance Care Planning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.11276/) (2025)
- [Synonymix: Unified Group Personas for Generative Simulations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.28066/) (2026)
- [Designing Conversations with the Dead: How People Engage with Generative Ghosts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.21390/) (2026)
- [VET: A Framework for Analyzing AI Discourse](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.01929/) (2026)
- [Psychological Influences of Conversational AI: Research and Design Directions for Reducing Harm and Promoting Well-Being](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.25057/) (2026)
- [Afterlife Delegation Protocol: Speculative Design of Self-Sovereign Agents that Outlive Their Principals](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.15405/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

As AI systems quickly improve in both breadth and depth of performance, they lend themselves to creating increasingly powerful and realistic agents, including the possibility of agents modeled on specific people. We anticipate that within our lifetimes it may become common practice for people to create custom AI agents to interact with loved ones and/or the broader world after death; indeed, the past year has seen a boom in startups purporting to offer such services. We call these generative ghosts, since such agents will be capable of generating novel content rather than merely parroting content produced by their creator while living. In this paper, we reflect on the history of technologies for AI afterlives, including current early attempts by individual enthusiasts and startup companies to create generative ghosts. We then introduce a novel design space detailing potential implementations of generative ghosts, and use this analytic framework to ground discussion of the practical and ethical implications of various approaches to designing generative ghosts, including potential positive and negative impacts on individuals and society. Based on these considerations, we lay out a research agenda for the AI and HCI research communities to better understand the risk/benefit landscape of this novel technology so as to ultimately empower people who wish to create and interact with AI afterlives to do so in a beneficial manner.