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Liya Su

Grieving relatives in China are making use of artificial intelligence (AI) to create lifelike avatars of their deceased loved ones, sparking a widespread debate on mainland social media.
Hangzhou Daily has reported that the use of AI services to “resurrect” the dead has gained popularity in China.
People are spending between 5,000 (US$700) and 10,000 yuan on the services that are also known as “ghost bots”.
The founder of an AI firm, Super Brain, Zhang Zewei, said that the technology was able to create basic avatars that are able to mimic the thinking and speech patterns of the deceased.

Since he set up the firm in May 2023 in Jiangsu province, eastern China, his team has helped thousands of families digitally revive their dearly departed from as little as 30 seconds of audiovisual material.
More than half of his clients have been elderly parents who lost their children.
“There are so many people in China, many with emotional needs, which gives us an advantage when it comes to market demand,” said Zhang.
Due to the fact that every client has different needs, he offers customised counselling services.
At present, his team is able to provide three kinds of service.
AI healing would clone voices to build a chatbox and the digital portrait provided a profile image to support an intelligent speech function, as well as a 3D digital human model.
Zhang’s team has successfully provided the AI healing service to more than 600 families. Fees range from 5,000 to 10,000 yuan.
He said clients were required to share photos, videos and audio recordings of the deceased.
“The more the materials we have, the better the cloning effect,” Zhang added.
A grieving man, surnamed Wu, one of Zhang’s clients, was mourning the loss of his son who died of a stroke aged 22 while studying in the United Kingdom in 2022.
He and his wife felt comforted after getting a basic avatar capable of copying his son’s image and voice.
“Goodbye, my dear parents. I hope I can accompany you all the time, and give you warmth and love,” his “son” said in a robotic voice.
“Death is not the end of love. Let’s reunite in the metaverse,” said Wu.

The story has intrigued people on mainland social media.
“It’s marvellous,” said one online observer.
Another agreed: “It’s definitely therapeutic for those who have lost a loved one.”
“Would they feel more pain if they were pretending not to lose anyone?” Another person asked.
But another person said: “Is it really good? People must try to go on with their lives without the lost loved ones.”


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‘Death is not the end of love’: grieving China relatives spend up to US$1,400 to ‘resurrect’ dead loved ones using AI technology

A company in China is charging grieving relatives up to US$1,400 to create avatars of their dead loved ones in a bid to offer some solace in time of sorrow. Photo: SCMP composite/Xiaohongshu

The parents of a young man who died of a stroke while studying in Britain say being able to “see and speak” to their virtual son has helped them through their grief. Photo: Douyin

The company selling “AI healing” service say they have helped 600 mourning clients since opening the business in 2023. Photo: Douyin

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News

People & Culture

China firm uses video, audio, photos to create virtual versions of dead
Couple ‘talk’ to dead son who speaks back, get solace from ‘ghost bot’


A company in China is charging grieving relatives up to US$1,400 to create virtual versions of their dead loved ones.


China technology

‘Death is not the end of love’: grieving China relatives spend up to US$1,400 to ‘resurrect’ dead loved ones using AI technology

China firm uses video, audio, photos to create virtual versions of dead Couple ‘talk’ to dead son who speaks back, get solace from ‘ghost bot’

China firm uses video, audio, photos to create virtual versions of dead

Couple ‘talk’ to dead son who speaks back, get solace from ‘ghost bot’