--- title: "People Are Selling AI Clones of Dead Relatives for Just $150" description: "Niche Interest In China, the AI cloning of dead relatives has become a thriving cottage industry, driving down prices and spurring technological advances in the years since these kinds of services have been offered. In an interview with NPR, reporter Zeyi Yang discussed the fascinating, if not macabre, industry he covered for a deep dive piece […]" date: "2024-05-14" modified: "2024-05-14" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/cheap-ai-clones-dead-relatives" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "chatbots" - "china" - "deepfake" - "the digest" --- # People Are Selling AI Clones of Dead Relatives for Just $150 ![In China, the AI cloning of dead relatives has become a thriving cottage industry, driving down prices and spurring technological advances.]() *\Image: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images\* ## Ghost Bots In China, the AI cloning of dead relatives has become a thriving cottage industry, driving down prices and spurring technological advances in the years since these kinds of services have been offered. In an [interview with *NPR*](), *MIT Tech Review* reporter Zeyi Yang discussed the fascinating, if not macabre, industry he covered for a [piece]() at his employer. According to his reporting, mourners can now purchase AI replicas of their deceased loved ones from a variety of companies for as little as $140 or $150, when just a few years ago it would have cost upwards of $1,000. One of the pioneers of this technology is the Nanjing-based firm Silicon Intelligence, whose cofounder Sun Kai had his engineers create an avatar of his mother after she unexpectedly passed away in 2019. At first, his mother's clone was clunky and repetitive — but the comfort it brought was nevertheless real. "My mom didn’t seem very natural, but I still heard the words that she often said: 'Have you eaten yet?'" Sun told the *Tech Review*. "She would always repeat those questions over and over again, and it made me very emotional when I heard it." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHjKdu8ubh0 ## Revere the Dead Confiding in the dead is, as Yang notes, part and parcel of [China's ancestor worship traditions](). Doing so with the visage of a beloved family member on a screen isn't quite the same thing as [writing them letters]() or [burning incense for them]() during holidays, but adoption has apparently sped up as AI technology has improved. "So I would say it is catching on, but only a small number for now," Yang told *NPR*. "I talked to two companies who have done this service for over 2,000 clients combined. Obviously, compared to just 1.4 billion people that are in China, that's still a small number. But they do describe that it has been growing a lot in the past year." Ethical concerns, of course, remain paramount, but Chinese companies have created these avatars with "explicit consent from immediate family members," Yang claimed. "Some of them are saying that it shouldn't be just one family member, but all of your surviving family members should agree on replicating you," he explained. "And then they will proceed to it." Despite China's unique ancestor worship culture, Yang said he could see this sort of "[deathbot]()" or "[ghost bot]()," as some outlets call them, catching on in other countries that have different but compatible relationships with the great beyond. "I definitely think it can catch on in cultures where there is a tradition to either revere the dead or talk to them," he said, "or just trying to communicate them in whatever spiritual ways." **More on AI resurrections:** [*Internet Horrified at AI App for Cloning Dead Family Members*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()