Somnium Space is a metaverse platform and live forever service. Its Live Forever mode creates a digital avatar of users based on information collected when interacting in the Somnium Space through VR headsets, controllers, and soon, full-bodied haptic suits with motion capture and biometric monitoring. Data on facial expression, body language, conversations, voice, character traits, and gait, allows the avatar to walk, talk and react with descendants and friends who can interact with the avatar of their deceased loved one. Initially, death bots and private chatbots were based on data supported by dead individuals but Somnium Space goes one step further with a moving full-body avatar. Somnium CEO Artur Sychov created the project after his father died from an aggressive form of cancer.

Over the last couple years, I've been spending time writing about creating ghosts -- perhaps an inevitability in the midst of a pandemic. While created by far-from-supernatural means, these are ghosts nonetheless; they are created from an essence of you -- from your voice, your data, your feelings, beliefs, habits, and history. Groups around the world are looking to take such information, this essence, and use it to create a digital version of you that may last once you are gone. Consider it a technological solution to the problem of death. Over the last couple years, I've been writing about creating ghosts -- perhaps an inevitability in the midst of a pandemic.