Data of the dead: Virtual immortality exposes holes in privacy laws

Have you ever wanted to talk to a loved one after they died? It used to be that only necromancers and mediums could claim to contact the dead, but soon digital versions of the deceased could be living just a few clicks away.

From South Korea to the United States, tech startups are looking at ways to keep the dead alive in a digital afterlife that data experts say poses myriad legal and ethical questions the world is yet to properly address.

“Technically, we can recreate anyone online given enough data,” said Faheem Hussain, a clinical assistant professor at Arizona State University’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society.

“That opens up a Pandora’s box of ethical implications.”