The Download: bots for the brokenhearted, and AI for life and death decisions

My colleague Charlotte embarked on an experiment during the pandemic. She created digital versions of her parents. They're voice assistants constructed by the company HereAfter AI, powered by more than four hours of conversations they each had with an interviewer about their lives and memories. Technology like this, which lets you "talk" to people who've died, has been a mainstay of science fiction for decades. While Charlotte's real, flesh-and-blood parents are still alive and well, their avatars offer a glimpse at a world where it's possible to converse with loved ones--or simulacra of them--long after they're gone.