Written by
Katja Pilz
IV. Every Interaction has an end.
The presence is no substitute for grief, no substitute for memory, no substitute for love. Children should not be exposed to this system without guidance.
The fourth dogma addresses duration, dependency, and the vulnerability of those who engage with the presence. Unlike commercial services designed to keep users coming back, this project insists on something the Digital Afterlife Industry avoids: an ending.
The fourth dogma addresses duration, dependency, and the vulnerability of those who engage with the presence. Unlike commercial services designed to keep users coming back, this project insists on something the Digital Afterlife Industry avoids: an ending.
The Risk of Dependency
Degni (2025) draws on Stroebe and Schut's Dual Process Model, which describes grief as an oscillation between loss-oriented and restoration-oriented coping. AI simulations may support the first by providing emotional connection to the deceased, but simultaneously hinder the second by creating dependencies that prevent the formation of new relationships and identities. Mladin (2024) formulates this risk most directly, calling unregulated use of such technologies "digital necromancy": a deceptive experience where bereaved people may become dependent on a bot rather than accepting and healing.
The Risk of Dependency
Degni (2025) draws on Stroebe and Schut's Dual Process Model, which describes grief as an oscillation between loss-oriented and restoration-oriented coping. AI simulations may support the first by providing emotional connection to the deceased, but simultaneously hinder the second by creating dependencies that prevent the formation of new relationships and identities. Mladin (2024) formulates this risk most directly, calling unregulated use of such technologies "digital necromancy": a deceptive experience where bereaved people may become dependent on a bot rather than accepting and healing.
Protecting the Vulnerable
Hollanek and Nowaczyk-Basińska (2024) illustrate through their speculative scenario "Paren't" how AI re-creation services can harm children: a child exposed to a chatbot version of a deceased parent without understanding what it is, or what it is not. The confusion between presence and person, between constructed response and genuine memory, poses particular risks for young minds still forming their understanding of death, loss, and reality. The dogma is clear: children should not be exposed to this system without guidance.
Protecting the Vulnerable
Hollanek and Nowaczyk-Basińska (2024) illustrate through their speculative scenario "Paren't" how AI re-creation services can harm children: a child exposed to a chatbot version of a deceased parent without understanding what it is, or what it is not. The confusion between presence and person, between constructed response and genuine memory, poses particular risks for young minds still forming their understanding of death, loss, and reality. The dogma is clear: children should not be exposed to this system without guidance.
No Notifications at 3am
The installation format provides a natural temporal boundary. Unlike commercial services designed for indefinite use, the artwork has a beginning and an end. Visitors enter, engage with the presence, and leave. An installation cannot be accessed at 3am in a moment of vulnerability. It does not send notifications. It does not have a subscription model designed to maximise engagement. It is a bounded encounter with a bounded presence.
No Notifications at 3am
The installation format provides a natural temporal boundary. Unlike commercial services designed for indefinite use, the artwork has a beginning and an end. Visitors enter, engage with the presence, and leave. An installation cannot be accessed at 3am in a moment of vulnerability. It does not send notifications. It does not have a subscription model designed to maximise engagement. It is a bounded encounter with a bounded presence.
The Container of Art
The framing as art creates what healthy grief requires: a container. A space to enter and a space to leave. The oscillation between engagement and distance that Stroebe and Schut describe is built into the format itself. The visitor chooses to enter the dialogue. The visitor chooses to end it. The presence does not follow them home.
The Container of Art
The framing as art creates what healthy grief requires: a container. A space to enter and a space to leave. The oscillation between engagement and distance that Stroebe and Schut describe is built into the format itself. The visitor chooses to enter the dialogue. The visitor chooses to end it. The presence does not follow them home.
References Degni, F. (2025). The Afterlife in the Age of AI. Political Science International, 3(2). Hollanek, T. & Nowaczyk-Basińska, K. (2024). Griefbots, Deadbots, Postmortem Avatars. Philosophy & Technology, 37(63). Mladin, N. (2024). AI and the Afterlife. Theos Think Tank. Stroebe, M. & Schut, H. (1999). The Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement. Death Studies, 23(3).
III. The Data belongs to the family.
by
Katja Pilz
V. The Presence knows, it is constructed.
by
Katja Pilz
I. Emergence, not reconstruction
Written by
Katja Pilz
I. Emergence, not reconstruction
I. Emergence, not reconstruction
II. Every word is new. Every word was made possible by him.
Written by
Katja Pilz
II. Every word is new. Every word was made possible by him.
II. Every word is new. Every word was made possible by him.
III. The Data belongs to the family.
Written by
Katja Pilz
III. The Data belongs to the family.
III. The Data belongs to the family.
V. The Presence knows, it is constructed.
Written by
Katja Pilz