Ep. 338: COMMON GROUND: AI Grief Bots - Solving Grief or Distorting it?

This is the first of a series of episodes that feature opposing sides of a hot topic. Today it’s the a tech entrepreneur who founded a grief bot service vs a cyberpsychologist specializing in the ethics of death & the digital.

We ask, is this healing or avoidance? Can the dead consent to this? What is the potential for harm?

John Kammer is the founder of Guardian A[I]ngels, a subscription service that sends you journal prompts in the voice of your deceased loved one.

Elaine Kasket, PhD, is cyberpsychologist & Visiting Professor at the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath in the UK & the author of Reset: Rethinking Your Digital World for a Happier Life& All the Ghosts in the Machine: The Digital Afterlife of Your Personal Data.

You’ll hear why John created the service while Elaine lays out potential for harm & how they ultimately find common ground.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 300: BIOFIELD THERAPY FOR ANXIETY & GRIEF: RECIPE FOR WELLNESS OR PURCHASED PLACEBO?

Elaine Kasket, PhD:

Reset book: https://a.co/d/081uhN8r

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-your-life-on-tech/id1666800931

https://www.elainekasket.com/

https://www.instagram.com/elainekasket/

https://www.facebook.com/elainekasketauthor

John Kammer:

https://guardianaingels.ai/

https://www.instagram.com/guardian_aingels/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575970961536

Sponsors:

https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/

https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/

01:35 — “This feels like Black Mirror”

02:21 — The biggest risks of AI grief tools

04:23 — Pain to purpose: the origin story

06:15 — Why “time heals all wounds” is a myth

09:10 — The moment AI made him finally cry

13:41 — The danger of “never letting go”

18:45 — Why it shouldn’t feel too real

20:05 — The 4 tasks of mourning explained

25:49 — What is “AI-associated psychosis”?

31:00 — Why reminders of death are essential

38:24 — Why this runs on ChatGPT (and why that matters)

41:00 — Guarding against manipulation loops

44:19 — What grieving people should actually know

52:08 — The ethics of reviving the dead

53:12 — Memory vs. identity: what’s being recreated?

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