Last year, documentary makers Moritz Riesewick and Hans Block stumbled upon a sinister phrase: 'You could become virtually immortal'. They thought it must be a scam. But nothing could be further from the truth: they found an entry point into the 'digital afterlife industry'. From there, they began a journey through the providers and customers.
This last aspect changed the entire approach of the documentary. The title was long Eternal Me due to that first phrase they encountered; the industry seemed to revolve around people who never wanted to die, 'white, libertarian men who shudder at the idea that the world will continue to turn without them', in their own words. They cite Elon Musk as an example. But that turned out not to be the truth: clients used the service to reconnect with deceased loved ones. They saw people grieving so deeply that they did everything they could to bring their loved ones back.
The Ethics of Eternal You
You could say: 'It's nice that there is a new way to deal with great loss.' But the documentary also immediately exposes the objections. First of all: how ethical is it to use grief as a business model? Conversations with Jason Rohrer, a programmer and founder of such a site, reveal that it is not clear where the responsibility lies. Rohrer places that responsibility, with a small disclaimer, completely on the people who pay for his service. This includes an incident where an AI loved one told a client that he had ended up 'in hell'. I mentioned Black Mirror earlier, didn't I?
Eternal You is a fascinating insight into a new technology. It particularly provides an ethical perspective on IT and raises the question of whether we should extract everything possible from technology. The film can be seen on 2Doc.