Chen speaks to his mum every Sunday from the oil rig where he works. They talk about the weather, the neighbour’s cat, and whether he’s eating properly. What Chen doesn’t know is that his mum died months ago. Instead of breaking his heart, his family hired a company to “resurrect” her using AI-generated video calls and text messages stitched together from her digital traces. What happens when our loved ones become something you can access… with a monthly plan?

Stories like this are becoming more common as people turn to AI to keep connections alive. This talk asks why. Are these companies ghoulish profiteers, selling grief back to us, or do they genuinely help people through loss? And what does it mean when the dead cannot consent to being resurrected, yet their likeness is repurposed for profit?

Guided by a digital anthropologist, we’ll explore the folklore and early research on “digital afterlives,” from séances and spirit photography to today’s deadbots and voice clones. This is a story about how technology commodifies grief, reshapes our relationships with the dead, and why we keep inviting them back.