British and New Zealand actor Sam Neill dies, aged 78 The death of Sam Neill, this Monday (13), once again flooded the internet with images and videos created by artificial intelligence to portray the actor after his death. Known for playing paleontologist Alan Grant in the "Jurassic Park" franchise, the actor was "recreated" as a ghost among dinosaurs or arriving at the park gates amidst the clouds. AI image creates actor Sam Neill when he "arrives in heaven" with the Jurassic Park gate Reproduction/ Among the AI-created videos, one shows his "arrival in heaven" in a "gym in the clouds." The "tributes" reignited the debate about manipulating the images of dead people and the limits of the use of AI. The phenomenon has a name: “digital necromancy”. AI creates academy in the sky in honor of Gabriel Ganley's death Reproduction/ Internet ? "Necromancy" is popularly known as the practice of communicating with the dead or invoking their spirits. The digital version describes the act of manipulating voices, images and personality traits of deceased people to generate content produced with AI. The trend is surrounded by controversy, as AI-powered content can turn grief into a product and create "digital puppets" of people who can no longer defend themselves. This is what explains Elaine Kasket, professor of psychology at the University of Bath, in the United Kingdom, and author of the book "All the Ghosts in the Machine: The Digital Afterlife of Your Personal Data". Not new The big news is that the creation of avatars no longer depends on people with advanced technical knowledge. Nowadays, the creation of so-called "grief bots", or "grief robots", has become more common with the popularization of AI tools. Platforms like ChatGPT and Claude, for example, can be used to transform "digital remains" — messages, audios and videos from a deceased person — into avatars. This indiscriminate use of tools to "revive" personalities can also distort these people's memories. This is the complaint of Flávia Christina, Pelé's daughter. Recently, she criticized videos of this type and stated that she was uncomfortable with images of her father: "these are not his normal attitudes." The subject perhaps attracted less attention when it was used more sparingly or when there was no alternative. In Hollywood, stunt doubles and computer graphics were used to complete actor Paul Walker's scenes in Fast and Furious 7, released in 2015. The following year, the Star Wars franchise also digitally recreated actor Peter Cushing in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Maria Rita and Elis Regina sing "Como Nosso Pais" in advertising Disclosure/Volkswagen In Brazil, the most notable case occurred in 2023, when Volkswagen used AI to create a duet between the singer Elis Regina, who died 44 years ago, and her daughter, Maria Rita. The automaker used deepfake technology to recreate Elis in the campaign. On the internet, reactions were divided, and regulatory bodies began to analyze the case. Conar even opened an investigation to determine whether the campaign violated the Brazilian Advertising Self-Regulation Code. Furthermore, a project by senator Rodrigo Cunha (Podemos-AL) proposed establishing guidelines for the use of images and audio of deceased people through AI. Both ended up archived. According to Kasket, regulation is not moving quickly enough to reduce the risks of inappropriate use of AI after death, and influential figures could become targets of political or commercial interests. “Anyone can use digital remains to manipulate the dead like puppets,” says the professor. She also notes that some governments are heavily influenced by technology companies, which can further compromise the protection of citizens' privacy. As a solution, the expert defends the creation of a model of personality rights that extends beyond physical death and legally limits the use of digital remains for replication or personification. Personally, Kasket has already taken precautions: "I've put a 'don't turn me into a bot' clause in my will, although that's not yet legally enforceable in the UK." Grief market In addition to the vulnerability of those who died, experts also point out the exploitation of family members. In the sector known as "grief tech", or "grief technology", companies have started to create virtual versions of deceased people so that friends and relatives can interact with these digital clones. This practice also gained ground among ordinary people with the popularization of "grief bots", or "grief robots". Since anyone can create digital clones, they can also offer this type of service to grieving families. It was in this context that controversial cases arose. Last year, journalist Jim Acosta, former CNN anchor in the United States, interviewed an avatar created by artificial intelligence of Joaquin Oliver, a 17-year-old killed in the massacre at a school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. "Jennifer Ann Crecente's family could do little when someone used Character.AI to represent the murdered young woman. It was even commented that an author who creates a fictional character has more control over the way other people represent that character than family members of a deceased person have on the image of their loved one,” said Elaine Kasket. The teacher emphasizes that grief is an individual experience. Therefore, it is impossible to predict the effect that a technological innovation will have on those facing a loss. “What one person experiences as something welcome or useful may be useless or even traumatic for another,” he says. The biggest concern, according to the expert, is the technology industry's attempt to treat grief as a "problem" that needs to be solved. For her, grief is not a pathology, but a fundamental part of the human experience. "The idea of ??'resolving' human experiences like grief shows the extent to which it is being platformed," he explains, adding that using robots to do so could be detrimental to the natural process of loss.