CHINA | 中国

China marked the final stop on our rich academic and cultural journey to explore how digital immortality is imagined across contexts. The Cambridge team—Dr Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska, Dr Stephen Cave, and Dr Tomasz Hollanek—joined forces in Beijing alongside external collaborators from the Institute of the Good Death, Anja Franczak and Tomasz Siuda, with remote support from research assistant Dr Saide Mobayed Vega. Together, they brought the project’s cross-cultural inquiry into its final and perhaps most philosophically charged chapter. 

The local partner for this phase of the project was the Berggruen Institute China, located in the beautiful No. 54 Yannan Garden on the campus of Peking University. Their support provided not only a uniquely atmospheric setting but also invaluable logistical support in hosting both our experts’ workshop and the series of “(Im)mortality Over Dinner” events. The project is funded by Schmidt Sciences under the AI2050 Fellowship and is hosted by the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge.   

Experts Workshop  

This phase of the project brought together an exceptional and interdisciplinary group of experts whose work spans journalism, philosophy, law, art, technology, and end-of-life care in contemporary China. Independent journalist Scarly Boya Zhou offered critical insights into gender, AI, and digital intimacy, drawing from her reporting on the emotional entanglements between users and AI chatbots. Researcher Liang Yang contributed his expertise on identity and governance in immersive digital ecosystems, while artist Cao Shu introduced speculative and material perspectives on technology, memory, and the afterlife through his multimedia practice. 

Professor Xia Chen, as a philosopher of Chinese philosophy provided deep reflections on Daoist ethics and Professor Xiangchen Sun offered a nuanced analysis from a Confucian and comparative Western and Chinese perspective. Professor Xin Dai who is specialized in legal issues related to technology, especially information technology brought critical perspectives on data privacy and AI governance. Dr Meiqin Chen shared her experiences as community organiser and special consultant for the Elderly Public Welfare Development Center. 

Industry voices were also represented: Yan Liu, founder of 6Rooms Technology, shared entrepreneurial insights into digital legacy platforms; and Qin Yuan, head of palliative care at Beijing Haidian Hospital, grounded the conversation in the emotional and medical dimensions of dying.  

Photos by Tomasz Siuda

The first part of the workshop—moderated by Dr Stephen Cave and Bing Song—focused on mapping the socio-cultural context, with particular attention to Chinese philosophical traditions such as Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Though these traditions often interweave in complex ways, each offers a distinct lens through which to consider the notion of digital immortality. 

Photos by Tomasz Siuda

From a Daoist viewpoint—as one of our expert guests explained—life is a continuous pursuit of multiple forms of immortality. In this light, digital immortality can be seen as one among many expressions of that quest—an additional path in the broader journey of transformation and transcendence. By contrast, Buddhist philosophy, emphasises the importance of letting go of worldly desires and attachments. From this perspective, technologies that promise a digital afterlife may be perceived as distractions from the true path toward enlightenment. Meanwhile, Confucianism places great value on ancestral lineage, social relationships, memory, and filial duties. Within this framework, digital immortality could be interpreted as a contemporary extension of one’s obligations to the deceased—preserving memory, sustaining, and nurturing intergenerational bonds. 

In their attempts to define digital immortality, experts drew attention to its dynamic, computational, and non-biological nature, often centring to data and memory as key components. “Digital immortality is not authentic—it’s a metaphor,” argued Dr Xin Dai. Building on this, Yang Liang added, “It’s not so much about what we perceive, but what we believe”. Dr Dai further clarified, “[Digital immortality] is a form of immortality through other people. It’s all about interaction”. This view was echoed by Yan Liu, who noted that such immortality exists only from the perspective of the user—what remains is not the person themselves, but a simulation; the subject is lost. Together, these reflections raised crucial questions about presence, authenticity, and belief in the age of digital afterlives. 

Photos by Tomasz Siuda

Dr Dai also cautioned that one of the key risks in the development of digital immortality lies in the potential loss of control over one’s personal narrative, raising ethical concerns about being digitally immortalised without consent. This unease was shared by other experts. “Adopting these technologies on an individual level may be much easier than achieving broader societal acceptance”, observed Yang Liang, pointing to the complex cultural and ethical landscape of these practices. Dr Yuan Qin emphasised that any meaningful continuation of the self must include both physical and psychological dimensions—conscious and subconscious. Digital immortality, she argued, lacks these fundamental connections and ultimately functions as a mere projection.  

Photos by Tomasz Siuda

In this initial segment of the workshop, several experts voiced critical concerns about the commercialisation of digital immortality—especially in light of China’s largely non-privatised funeral industry [1], which stands in contrast to many Western models.  

This reflection set the stage for the next activity: a speculative exercise moderated by Dr Tomasz Hollanek. Designed to be both engaging and thought-provoking, the exercise invited participants to step into the role of consultants for a fictional U.S.-based tech company planning to launch a digital immortality product in China. Dr Hollanek embodied the company’s representative, prompting experts to evaluate the product’s features and critically examine the cultural values and assumptions embedded within its design. 

Photos by Tomasz Siuda

Several key insights emerged from this segment of the workshop.

Participants emphasised the importance of critically assessing user dependency, raising concerns about the psychological effects of such technologies—particularly in cases of pathological grief. The credibility of private companies entering such a sensitive domain was also called into question, with many suggesting that immortalisation technologies should be informed by, or connected to, religious or philosophical traditions. 

Crucially, there was a broad consensus that digital immortality should not be treated as a conventional business model. Rather than capitalising on human vulnerability, experts argued that any revenue generated should be reinvested in the public good. An ethical approach, they proposed, would position these technologies as non-profit initiatives rooted in collective care, cultural sensibility, and social responsibility, rather than commercial gain.  

During the exercise on imagining desirable futures for end-of-life contexts involving AI, participants split into two groups for a focused brainstorming session. Their reflections reached far beyond the notion of re-embodying the deceased—echoing themes raised in previous workshops in Poland and India. One group envisioned AI not as a substitute for grief, but as a new conduit of wisdom—capable of transmitting spiritual and ethical teachings, drawing inspiration from historical figures like Jesus and Buddha. The second group proposed a vision of AI as a tool for cultivating a deeper and more conscious engagement with death and dying—encouraging introspective reflection rather than escapism. In this scenario, AI becomes a non-profit, abstract, and spiritual resource dedicated to serving living confront mortality with greater awareness. As Bing Song concluded,

“It could support a new form of education aimed at helping people cultivate a habit of thinking about death.” 

Photos by Tomasz Siuda

In the final part of the workshop, Dr Nowaczyk-Basińska introduced her original concept for raising professional standards in the digital afterlife industry. Her proposal calls for the establishment of a new, specially trained and academically informed cohort of specialists trained to navigate the ethical and practical complexities of postmortem technologies. The need for such a profession addresses two pressing issues: the lack of death-related expertise among the creators of digital immortality technologies, and the industry’s reliance on atrial-and-error model to developing such products and services—often disconnected from research or lived experience. The presentation highlighted key arguments from her article Digital afterlife leaders: professionalisation as a social innovation in the digital afterlife industry  published in Mortality, as part of the Special Issue Innovation at the End of Life. 

Photos by Tomasz Siuda

Survey results from the workshop revealed unanimous agreement among experts: managing postmortem data requires a new, specialised profession. When compared alongside findings from previous workshops in Poland and India, it can be tentatively concluded that there is growing cross-cultural support for this idea.  While further analysis of the survey data is underway, early indications suggest both enthusiasm for the role and awareness of the structural challenges its development may face. 

The expert workshop was conducted in English, with the support of a professional translator Lu Jiang, whose contribution ensured smoother communication and deeper understanding across linguistic and conceptual boundaries. 

(Im)mortality Over Dinner  

Unlike our workshops in Poland and India, our time in China—thanks to the invaluable support of the Berggruen team—offered a unique opportunity to host three dinners across three different venues.  

The first was held at Yuhuazhai Restaurant, a charitable non-profit with Buddhist roots. Known for providing free lunches to seniors and supporting local hospice care, it is led by Dr Meiqin Chen, an expert participant in our workshop. Dr Chen now works as a community organiser and special consultant to the Elderly Public Welfare Development Center. Her team also runs the “Voices Through Time” initiative, which documents the life stories of elderly residents to share and preserve their legacies. 

Photos by Tomasz Siuda

Interestingly, this dinner also marked the first time in our series where participants spoke about the dead not only with reverence but also as a source of pain and negative impact. Some shared experiences of generational violence, where continuing bonds with the deceased—a strong theme discussed in the context of this research—meant breaking harmful cycles rather than preserving them. Others spoke of unconditional love, the lasting presence of lost relatives, and the belief that life and death form a continuous whole rather than rigidly separated.  

Photos by Tomasz Siuda

A recurring concern was the disruption of the dead’s peace. As one participant explained:

“In China, during the Qingming Festival [2], the dead and the living do not coexist. The door must remain closed”.

Another, one of the eldest voices at the table, cautioned: “With this technology, we may destroy thousands of years of civilization.” She emphasised how “each family has its own structure, its own rules. It is impossible to construct a complete digital image of a person without context. Such efforts could lead to chaos within families, which in turn could ripple into social instability”. The term “emotional kidnapping” was used to describe the risk of clinging to the dead in ways that hinder healing. This concern echoed a theme we also encountered in Poland: the idea of using such technologies in clinical contexts, such as grief therapy, to help regulate their use and mitigate potential negative psychological consequences. 

Photos by Tomasz Siuda

There was a general consensus on the need for regulatory frameworks, with one participant suggesting the government should play a central role. In contrast, another stressed that such technologies should be strictly excluded from commercialisation, militarisation, and politics. 

The evening concluded with a photo session in a pop-up studio set up by Tomasz Siuda. Everyone took part, and the portraits—just as in the other locations—beautifully captured the unique spirit of the gathering. 

Photos by Tomasz Siuda

The other two dinners were hosted at the Berggruen Institute China and Yiyuan Chinese restaurant located at Zhongguanyuan Global Village, PKU. Both were rich in emotional depth and intellectual exchange. For several guests, the dinners became a space to mourn recently lost loved ones. At the Berggruen Institute China, skepticism toward the idea of using AI to engage with the dead emerged strongly. One participant remarked, “I don’t want to use AI to memorialise the dead. In fact, I don’t want to use any concrete object at all—I want to avoid becoming attached”. Another added,

“This will destroy the memory of the dead. You should leave them in peace. In our tradition, you are not supposed to cry too much for the dead”.  

Photos by Tomasz Siuda

A fascinating cultural insight emerged around AI as a therapeutic tool. In Chinese philosophy, medicine can be viewed as a form of poison—something that counters pain but is inherently toxic. This sparked reflections on whether AI grief technologies, if framed as “healing,” might bring unintended harm. One guest suggested reserving a single ceremonial day—just like the Tomb-Sweeping Day—for remembrance Another proposed creating an archive for family stories, but concluded, “perhaps forgetting is a blessing.” 

Photos by Tomasz Siuda

During our stay in Beijing, Dr Nowaczyk-Basińska also had the honour of presenting this project at Renmin University of China. Invited by Professors Chang Liu and Xiaoli Liu, she delivered a keynote lecture at a seminar organised by the School of Philosophy and the Interdisciplinary Platform for Philosophy and Cognitive Science, sharing insights related to cross-cultural research on digital immortality, as well as other aspects of her work—including the responsible design of such technologies and the concept of professionalisation within the digital afterlife industry. 

This interdisciplinary conversation included academics from religious studies and psychology, Buddhist monks, representative from Microsoft, and scholars from the School of Journalism and Communication. Topics ranged from the potential use of this technology in hospice care, to distinctions between public and private domains, and parameters for its desirable application in psychological contexts. 

In the coming months—following an intense phase of data collection—our Cambridge-based digital immortality team will focus on data analysis. The project will culminate in three academic papers and a comprehensive report, to be published later this year. We are also preparing to release a short documentary that captures the project’s key insights. For more information and ongoing updates, please visit the project website regularly. We’re glad to have you with us! 

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[1] In China, funeral services are primarily provided by government-run non-profit organisations. However, market-oriented intermediaries often operate between the public and these providers, offering additional services and facilitating arrangements.

[2] Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, is a traditional Chinese holiday held in early April to honour and pay respects to ancestors by cleaning their graves, offering their spirits food, drinks, and burning incense. It is also a time to enjoy the spring weather and reflect on familial bonds.

Written by Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska & Saide Mobayed Vega

Cultural accuracy was reviewed with the support of Jian Ma