Written by Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska & Saide Mobayed Vega
In February, we continued our research on digital immortality, traveling to our second destination, India, after launching our initial study in Poland in late November 2024. Over the course of a week in New Delhi, our team—Dr. Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska, Dr. Tomasz Hollanek, Dr. Maya Indira Ganesh, Anja Franczak, Tomasz Siuda and Dr. Saide Mobayed Vega (supporting us remotely)—explored how both experts and non-experts perceive the emerging „digital afterlife industry” and the hopes and concerns associated with the end-of-life innovations enabled by AI.
The project is funded by Schmidt Sciences under the AI2050 Fellowship and hosted by the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge. For the Indian phase of the project, our “home” became the India International Centre—a renowned cultural and intellectual hub in the heart of New Delhi. Additionally, we collaborated with Ashoka University to support the organisational aspects of our research.
Experts Workshop
The first two days of our fieldwork focused on an expert workshop, bringing together 11 specialists across seven categories: 1) Academics, researchers, thinkers, public intellectuals, and artists; 2) Healthcare professionals and social workers; 3) Technologists, developers, entrepreneurs, and innovators; 4) Legal experts; 5) Community organisers, civil society groups, NGOs; 6) Religious and spiritual leaders; 7) Funeral services. This diverse and interdisciplinary group converged academics, practitioners, and innovators from various fields spanning anthropology, digital media, law, technology, finance, environmental studies, and human rights—all with a shared interest in the social, cultural, and technological dimensions of death, dying, immortality, and digital technologies.
Photos by Tomasz Siuda
Among them, Minakshi Dewan and Parjanya Sen brought scholarly expertise on death rituals, each having the opportunity to present and discuss their published works, including The Final Farewell: Understanding Last Rites and Rituals Across India’s Major Faiths (Dewan, 2023, HarperCollins India) and Death and Dying in Northeast India (Sen and Shekhar Chakraborty (co-editors), 2024, Routledge).
Photos by Tomasz Siuda
Manisha Sheth fostered community dialogue based on her study group, Dying to Learn. Cyril Joseph, a funeral director, provided insights into end-of-life services, while Krittika Sharma, founder and creative creator of Maajhi, offered a perspective on designing tools and experiences that humanise grief, loss and death. Dr. Ravi Nandan Singh contributed an ethnographic lens on cremation cultures, and Nikhil Varghese offered points of view related to planning and taxation. Senthil Nayagam, founder of Muonium AI Studios, explored the intersection of technology and digital resurrection, while Sudeep Sudhakaran examined the legal and regulatory frameworks shaping digital afterlives. Dr Debayan Gupta brought expertise in cybersecurity and cryptography, and Yeshwanth Sonnathi enriched the discussion by bringing insights from his background as a public health professional and researcher, further deepening the thought-provoking exchange.
The workshop was designed as qualitative research, with its agenda carefully replicated from the Polish phase of the project to ensure methodological consistency. The first part, moderated by Dr Maya Indira Ganesh, focused on mapping the socio-cultural context of digital immortality in India. The second part, chaired by Dr Tomasz Hollanek, centred on design aspects and technological innovation. In the final part, Dr Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska introduced participants to the concept of professionalisation and the potential for social innovation within the digital afterlife industry.
Photos by Tomasz Siuda
The purpose of the expert meeting was to explore high-level questions surrounding the phenomenon of digital immortality, including product design, potential policy and regulatory interventions, and social innovations, while maintaining an open-minded, inclusive, critical, and empathetic approach. As Dr Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska suggested in the opening remarks:
“Regardless of our personal feelings and preferences, one thing remains certain—our data will outlive our biological existence. The central question is not whether we want to be digitally immortalised, but rather how we want to manage our data. And that is a question relevant not only to a relatively small group of digital immortality users but to all of us—users of digital technologies”.
The group conversation began with questions about how to define digital immortality. While exploring this, participants challenged the notions of interactivity, permanence, and timelessness—concepts often embedded in the dominant narrative on digital immortality. The experts acknowledged that our understanding is still evolving, and we are searching for a more precise, flexible, and inclusive language to describe these emerging phenomena. As Dr Ravi Nandan Singh suggested, this fluidity is a natural part of the knowledge-making process. While initial skepticism may have dominated the discourse a few years ago, there has been a gradual and almost imperceptible shift toward classification. “Perhaps at this stage,” added Dr. Debayan Gupta, “it is more accurate to think of it as a digital extension or a digital simulacrum rather than ‘true’ digital immortality”.
The discussion then expanded to the concept of dignity and what constitutes a “good death” in the age of AI. Krittika Sharma introduced the thought-provoking term “business of dignity” as a counterbalance to “death capitalism,” paving the way for thinking about death through non-monetary values.
Photos by Tomasz Siuda
Another intellectually stimulating insight was the idea that dying, after all, might be a skill—something that can be learned and taught. This concept emerged from a touching personal story shared by Manisha Sheth about accompanying her dying mother. She described this experience as a gift, which later inspired the creation of an informal WhatsApp group called Dying to Learn—a space designed to foster open, inclusive, and non-tabooed discussions about death.
Building on this, while reviewing our seven categories of experts, the group debated whether the elderly and those at the end of their lives should also be considered experts, as their proximity to death offers a perspective that differs significantly from those who observe it from a distance or have not been directly exposed to it. This idea resonated with Terror Management Theory, which explores how awareness of mortality influences human behavior and remains one of the theoretical frameworks for this research.
The discussion also revolved around the loss of meaning—a phenomenon that, as was interestingly noted, can occur even in long-standing rituals and traditions, where the deeper significance of gestures gradually fades over generations. This raised a fundamental question about emerging technologies: How do we imbue them with meaning and purpose? It also led to a further conversation about communal rituals and how technology could be designed to strengthen the sense of community rather than encourage an individualistic approach to grief.
Among the many dichotomies discussed during the expert session—such as individual vs. collective, private vs. public—an intriguing political vs. intimate thread emerged. Experts expressed concerns that postmortem avatars could pose significant societal challenges, potentially being used to manipulate, exert power, or reinforce class and caste divisions, particularly within the Indian context.
For all our research activities, we were joined by two Canadian colleagues from York University, Dr Julia Creet and Dr Manfred Becker, both of whom are also filmmakers working on a documentary about digital immortality. Their project, titled Digital Afterlives, is a federally funded 5-year research initiative that brings together a multidisciplinary team from Memory Studies, Death Studies, Medicine, Law, Communications, and Film, spanning Canada, the US, the UK, and Brazil. At the heart of their research is the question: “Your digital self will outlive you, but who will control your digital remains?”—a theme that closely aligns with the AI2050 project. Recognising this shared focus, we combined forces to promote a cross-cultural discussion on digital immortality. As part of their documentary work, Becker and Creet accompanied us during our research, capturing key moments on camera and interviewing both expert and non-expert participants to enrich the film’s exploration of the evolving relationship between technology, memory, and the afterlife.
(Im)mortality Over Dinner
Over the next three days, we held „(Im)mortality Over Dinner” focus groups, engaging in in-depth discussions with non-experts to explore their perspectives. Each dinner started with a screening of the documentary Eternal You (directed by Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck), followed by a 15-minute break, after which we reconvened in the same room for a more intimate setting. The host of the dinner was Anja Franczak, a certified grief counselor and the founder of the Institute of the Good Death in Poland.
Each of the three dinners—similar to our previous Polish experience—varied in terms of intimacy and the balance between emotional and intellectual aspects of the discussion. It’s important to note, however, that this is not to evaluate what is more “appropriate” or “expected” in this context, but rather to acknowledge that the “dinners” provide space for different forms of expression. At the table, there is room for personal stories, but for those less inclined to share, the film—watched together beforehand—provides a comfortable pretext for a more general discussion. Overall, the „dinners” team (Anja Franczak, Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska, Tomasz Siuda) has consistently put in effort to foster a respectful and welcoming atmosphere. This was clearly appreciated by participants, as reflected in the post-feedback survey, where all of them unanimously stated that they felt „safe” and „cared for” during the meetings.
Photos by Tomasz Siuda
Interestingly, we are already noticing recurring themes emerging across the three Indian dinners, as well as in comparison to the Polish “dinners”. In the context of the digital afterlife industry, for example, it was noted that grief has become an „exploitable state” — a state of vulnerability where we are more prone to potentially becoming addicted. During the Indian dinners, participants drew strong parallels between drugs, griefbots, and addiction, emphasising the need for these technologies to be used responsibly under the guidance of specialists—such as psychiatrists or psychologists—in a controlled, therapeutic setting. Some participants shared their concern that these technologies might completely disrupt emotional well-being. One participant put it clearly: „It is not good for countries with poor psychological care”, he said. „In case something goes wrong and there is a disruption in the grief process, who would help us?” Another participant also mentioned the idea of new job opportunities for the future, which aligns well with the professionalisation aspect discussed within this project.
Loneliness was another recurring topic, with avatars discussed as a potential way to address the problem of the elderly, who could form parasocial relationships with postmortem avatars. This also shifted the conversation towards the possibility of using these technologies as a form of knowledge-sharing and an interactive archive, rather than merely a therapeutic tool. It was also proposed that these tools could help reintegrate knowledge into society that would otherwise be lost.
Photos by Tomasz Siuda
Among the key takeaways shared by participants was the realisation of the profound connection that discussing death can ignite, even among strangers. Others reflected on personal emotions and relationships, expressing sentiments such as, „I miss my grandmother,” „I am aware of my vulnerability,” and „I should create more memories with my loved ones”.
Photos by Tomasz Siuda
Some participants highlighted the intellectual and emotional impact of the discussion, with one stating, „I leave the meeting more knowledgeable,” while another shared, „I leave with a sense of hope”. One particularly moving reflection described the experience as meditative:
„It was a form of meditation for me. I was meditating with you, and that became a prayer for my ancestors. I felt that I was with my ancestors today”.
As a gesture of appreciation, all participants who agreed to take part in the short photo session at the end of the “dinner,” conducted by Tomasz Siuda, received the photos as a keepsake from the evening.
Photos by Tomasz Siuda
Data analysis for this phase of the research is already underway. Next, we look forward to collaborating with our Indian participants on a co-authored report. Additionally, preparations are in motion for our final research trip to China in late April. Stay tuned for more updates!