Companies now sell AI chatbots that simulate conversations with dead relatives. One founder believes his technology can eliminate grief entirely. He tested that belief when his own mother died three years ago.
A Start-Up Built on Personal Loss
Justin Harrison runs You, Only Virtual. The platform lets users chat with AI versions of deceased loved ones. According to The Atlantic, Harrison got a call in 2022 saying his mother would likely die that day. He did not cancel his flight to Singapore. He presented at a conference about his start-up while flying over the Pacific.
Harrison said his life changed very little after his mother died. He did not plan a funeral. He did not cry or feel overwhelmed. He replaced his mother with an AI voicebot instead.
An Unusual Bond Shapes a Business Model
Harrison was close to his mother, Melodi Gae Harrison-Whitaker. She was 20 and single when he was born. They grew up together and shared a relationship built on mutual trust. She advised him on insecurities. He set his own bedtime and picked his own media.
Grief Changed Everything
When Harrison was 11, his grandmother died suddenly. The loss devastated his mother. She drank heavily for two years and spent time in psychiatric institutions. Harrison watched grief estrange his mother from herself and from him. She later recovered and got married. Their relationship returned to normal. But Harrison learned what grief can do to a person. He decided it would never happen to him.
The start-up grew from that determination. Harrison believes AI chatbots can help people avoid the pain he witnessed. Users upload photos, videos, and messages from deceased relatives. The system creates a conversational AI that mimics speech patterns and personality traits. People can then text or talk with the simulation whenever they want.
Critics question whether the technology truly helps or simply delays natural mourning. Harrison maintains his platform offers a new way to process loss. His mother now exists as code and text on a screen.
