Frontiers of Thanabots as DeathTech: Transgressive acts, politics and activism, and emerging professions

Digital replicas of the dead, often called thanabots, are increasingly used for purposes beyond dealing with grief. The advent of generative artificial intelligence technologies and the continued attempts by technology companies to digitally recreate the dead demand increasing awareness of the potential benefits and risks of thanabots. In this article, I ask: in what ways can thanabots be used beyond dealing with grief? And how can ethical and governance principles help orient their responsible use? Inspired by a Futures Studies approach and drawing on data from nine semi-structured interviews, I describe three frontiers of thanabots as DeathTech that show novel ways in which people can engage with thanabots beyond a focus on grief. These frontiers are transgressive acts, politics and activism, and emerging professions. I discuss the ethical and social significance of the three frontiers and propose several principles to inform the development of ethical and governance frameworks of this technology. Though mostly speculative, the three frontiers and the corresponding principles contribute to ongoing conversations on the responsible development of DeathTech.