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In Shandong, China, a family used AI experts to create a digital avatar of their deceased son to conceal his death from his 80-year-old, heart-ill mother. The AI clone interacts with her via daily video calls, raising ethical concerns about emotional harm and deception caused by AI technology.[AI generated]
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
An AI system is explicitly involved as it generates a realistic digital avatar that interacts with a human in real time. The AI system's use directly leads to a situation where the mother is misled about a significant fact (her son's death), which can be considered a violation of her right to truthful information and may cause emotional or psychological harm. Although the immediate harm is intended to be mitigated (preventing shock), the deception itself constitutes a harm under the framework, especially considering potential future harm if the truth is revealed. Therefore, this qualifies as an AI Incident due to the realized harm (emotional/psychological harm and rights violation) caused by the AI system's use.[AI generated]