Remember You: Understanding How Users Use Deadbots to Reconstruct Memories of the Deceased

TL;DR

This study explores how bereaved individuals actively use Deadbots to reconstruct and idealize memories of the deceased, blending authentic recollections with AI-generated content, which raises ethical concerns.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into user behaviors and memory shaping processes in AI-mediated grieving, highlighting the active role of users and the evolving nature of digital memories.

Findings

Users actively construct and reshape digital memories.

Deadbots serve as private grieving spaces and memory channels.

Memory blurring raises ethical concerns about distortion.

Abstract

Generative AI has enabled ``Deadbots'', offering mourners an interactive way to engage with simulations of the deceased. While existing research often emphasizes ethics, less is known about how bereaved individuals construct and reshape memory through such interactions. To address this gap, this study draws on in-depth interviews with 26 users. Findings reveal that users are not passive recipients but active constructors of the deceased's digital representation. Through selective input, ongoing interactive adjustments and imaginative cognitive supplementation, they build an idealized digital figure blending authentic memories with personal expectations. Deadbots provide a private space to grieve without social pressure and a channel to address unresolved emotions. In this process, users' memory of the deceased evolves dynamically: from initial reinforcement and idealization to a later stage where AI-generated new memories blur with authentic recollections, reflecting a complex desire for connection through an artificial medium. This blurring raises ethical concerns regarding memory distortion and dependency, underscoring the need for future clinical research on the long-term impact of AI-mediated grieving.