I have been working in the field of digital immortality for almost a decade now, witnessing its gradual transition from niche technologies to a fully independent market segment known as the “digital afterlife industry.” My specific academic focus is on both contributing to the development of the field and improving the industry through more practical-oriented projects. In my everyday work, I broadly collaborate with academics, artists, civil societies, NGOs, and local and international cultural institutions.
Below you can find my main academic interests
- (Im)mortality studies
Recognizing the clear need for interdisciplinary research in the field of (im)mortality technologies, as part of my doctoral dissertation, I developed a theoretical framework for a new sub-discipline called “(im)mortality studies“. These studies encompass three main goals: education, research, and cross-sector and cross-cultural collaboration. I believe that only through interdisciplinary dialogue – built on trust, empathy, and respect for diversity – we can create sustainable and socially responsible technologies related to human (im)mortality. My Phd (written in polish) is avaiable here. In 2023, this work was awarded in the 11th edition of the Inka Brodzka-Wald Competition for the best doctoral thesis on contemporary issues in the humanities, and in 2024, I became a finalist in the competition organized by the National Centre for Culture for the best doctoral thesis defended in Poland between 2021 and 2023 in the field of culture. - Cross-Cultural Approach to Digital Immortality
Although digital immortality is still relatively new, the trend of digitally simulating the dead has become global in recent years. Not surprisingly, the most prominent voices and perspectives often reflect that digital immortality is primarily associated with the Anglophone context, along with its values, concepts, desires, and fears. This perspective also dominates the way digital immortality is researched, perceived, designed, and regulated. Given that death and immortality are highly delicate and context-specific matters, I believe that work towards more diverse futures is greatly needed. To find out more about the project, please visit AI2050. - Responsible Design in the Digital Afterlife Industry
This line of research, led with my co-author Dr Tomasz Hollanek (AI ethicist and critical design scholar), includes our paper on “deadbots,” which received global media coverage. Through this paper, we aimed to highlight that the so-called Digital Afterlife Industry (DAI) is a high-risk area of AI application. As we observe an increasing number of commercial companies introducing new death and immortality-related products or services to the market without adhering to safety standards or regulations, we argue that new ethical and design standards are necessary to protect users from the potential negative implications of these technologies. Additionally, further obligations should be imposed on service providers. You can read more about the study in this press release by the University of Cambridge or access the original research article, ‘Griefbots, Deadbots, Postmortem Avatars: on Responsible Applications of Generative AI in the Digital Afterlife Industry’, published in the journal Philosophy and Technology. - Digital Afterlife Leaders
Since the term “digital afterlife industry” (DAI) was coined in 2017 by Carl Öhman and Luciano Floridi, scholarly attention has primarily focused on establishing ethical frameworks for this emerging domain. While recent discussions have centered on the commodification, commercialization, and privatization of our postmortem presence within DAI, little attention has been given to a crucial missing element: professionalization. Therefore, in pursuing this research direction, I aim to present professionalization as a significant social innovation with the potential to enhance standards and provide new social values within the digital afterlife industry. Drawing inspiration from existing roles such as ‘digital death managers,’ ‘digital embalmers,’ and ‘digital afterlife consultants,’ I advocate for the development of a new cadre of professionals, collectively termed ‘digital afterlife leaders.’ The article titled “Professionalization as a Social Innovation in the Digital Afterlife Industry” is currently under review for “Mortality” (Special Issue: Innovation at the End of Life).