Need closure with a dead loved one? This CU Boulder team explores AI ghosts

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder studied reactions to “AI ghosts” — text-based AI models designed to act as or on behalf of deceased loved ones. In experiments reported from a June study led by the CU Boulder team, participants interacted with custom GPT-4 versions built using details about relatives’ quirks and a memory chosen to capture their loved ones. While a participant said a ghost of her grandmother felt comforting and “like closure,” others expressed concern that prolonged reliance could become harmful, likening it to the way people develop attachments to AI characters. The study found participants preferred ghosts that responded as the deceased rather than speaking in the third person. It also reported that factual inaccuracies mattered less than communication factors such as sentence length, tone, and whether emojis were included. Manning said people focused on perceived authenticity and mismatches, even when errors occurred about jobs or favorite foods.