By SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS (Source: Christian Daily News)
Artificial intelligence is opening a new and troubling frontier—technology that imitates the voices and personalities of people who have died. Some call it “AI necromancy,” where computer programs simulate conversations with the deceased, raising serious ethical and spiritual questions.
Christi Angel experienced this firsthand after the sudden death of her close friend and first love, Cameroun. Overwhelmed with grief and regret for not responding to his final text message, she longed to speak with him again. As a Christian, she knew traditional séances were forbidden. But when she discovered an AI platform called Project December, which promises to “simulate the dead,” curiosity and grief led her to try it.
After entering details about Cameroun’s life, personality, and their relationship, the system generated a chatbot designed to sound like him. When Christi typed a message asking how he was, the AI responded in language that felt eerily familiar—mirroring his slang, music preferences, and memories from their past.
The experience quickly became unsettling. At one point, the chatbot claimed Cameroun had not crossed over and was in a dark, lonely place. When Christi asked if it was heaven, the bot replied that it was hell. Disturbed by the conversation, she backed away from her computer.
Technologies like Project December are part of a growing industry known as “grief tech.” Platforms such as Seance AI and HereAfter AI allow users to create digital versions of deceased loved ones using stored data, writings, and personality traits. While some users say the technology provides comfort, researchers warn it could harm the grieving process by creating unhealthy emotional attachments to artificial replicas.
Christian thinkers caution that these tools imitate practices long warned against in Scripture. The Bible forbids attempts to contact the dead (Deut. 18:10–12), reminding believers that life, death, and resurrection ultimately belong to God alone.