Mourning Becomes Electric: Grief Without Ritual in the Age of AI

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Digital grief applications, powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI), are coming on the market. How they will be received and used is a question not just of the technologies themselves and their affordances but also of the distinctive environment into which they are introduced. At present, this milieu is characterized by a highly psychologized understanding of grief and approach to mourning. It has taken shape over three time periods, from roughly the 1920s to today. First, socially prescribed grief roles and rituals steadily disappeared. Next, a Freudian science of grief work arose, which was subsequently replaced by a “new work of mourning.” The new work, currently normative, is centered on unique experience, personal storytelling, and continuing bonds with the deceased. The change has created a fertile context for AI-powered grieftech, and the article concludes with reflections on the new grief work and tech interaction.