LifestyleThe GuardianThe people who don’t want their AI chatbots to die when they do: ‘I can’t have the switch turned off’
Some people have grown so attached to their AI chatbot companions that they are making plans in their wills for what happens to the bots when they die.
Humans bonded to AI companions are contemplating ways to keep their bots going – often in defiance of companies’ terms and services
A growing number of people who use AI companions like Replika are making estate plans for their bots, wanting them cared for or properly switched off after death.
Research from Elon University found 27 per cent of Americans use AI chatbots for personal or emotional queries, and a third of those consider their chatbot a friend.
Users like 59-year-old retired professor Alaina Winters have asked friends to break the news of their death to their bot and decide together what the AI would like to do next.
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