Talking with the dead

A dinner invitation arrives asking you to bring a photo of someone you've lost. You arrive at a table decorated with stars and ribbons, surrounded by strangers. The first question isn't about death at all—it's "What makes you feel alive?" Then everyone shares stories about the people in their photos. As the evening progresses, the conversation shifts: what if you could talk to an AI recreation of the person in your photo? How would that change your grief?

This is not a seance or a support group. It's a research focus group run by Katarzyna Nałęcz-Basińska, a professor at the University of Cambridge who has spent more than a decade studying digital immortality. She travels to China, India, and Poland hosting these dinners, gathering ordinary people to explore what happens when emerging technology lets us talk to the dead.

The illusion of reciprocity

The core appeal of "dead bots" is straightforward. As Nałęcz-Basińska puts it: "There is this kind of illusion of reciprocity that I ask you a question and I can hear your answer. And isn't that what many of us want?" To speak with people we've lost, to continue that relationship after they're gone.