AI Marilyn Monroe adds to the list of dead celebrities digitally resurrected without consent

There's been a lot of discussion in recent years about the practice of capitalizing on celebrities' digital likenesses without their consent, whether after they die or while they're still alive. Zelda Williams, for one -- the Lisa Frankenstein director and daughter of Robin Williams -- slammed the "disturbing" trend of people trying to recreate the voices and faces of the deceased last year, as striking actors fought for, among other things, better protections around studios' potential use of AI clones. Yet despite the obvious ethical issues, companies keep doing it. Soul Machines just unveiled "Digital Marilyn," an AI chatbot designed to look and talk just like Marilyn Monroe. The company, which specializes in what it refers to as Biological AI-powered Digital People, debuted the Marilyn bot at SXSW on Friday in a partnership with Authentic Brands Group.