AI avatars and DNA gems are emerging as new ways to remember the dead across East Asia, as innovators in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan use digital technology to transform how people grieve.
The trend is developing as the region faces a rapidly ageing population and a severe shortage of burial space, creating a lucrative new market around death and remembrance.
Digital tools can recreate aspects of loved ones in virtual form, allowing them to be brought back into people’s lives after death. Other technologies preserve traces of the deceased in physical forms, including gems made from DNA.
AI avatars and the future of mourning
The use of AI avatars is raising questions about how far technology should shape the grieving process. While such services may offer comfort to some, they have also prompted wider discussion about whether digital recreations help people heal or make it harder to let go.
An investigation into the changing customs of farewell follows innovators across East Asia as they develop new responses to ageing societies, limited burial space and the enduring desire to remain connected to those who have died.
