Life, death, love and loss are some of the defining factors of the human experiences. But as we enter the age where progressing technology comes to a crossroads with the promise of escaping the problems of conventional paradigms, many have begun to wonder how some of these issues can be resolved. As with many things, people are turning to AI (artificial intelligence) as a possible means for preserving a person's life, or at least their characteristics and experiences, so that the end of a person's natural life doesn't mean that we lose access to them forever.   In this video we look at several groups - ranging from startups to nonprofit organizations and even talented individuals working for their own reasons - who are working with AI and examining the potential to digitize a person's essence and keep it around after their death.   Sound morbid? Maybe. Tempting? Probably, at least to a number of people. There are few who have not been touched by the pain of losing somebody close to them, and all will eventually experience it. As we struggle to come to terms with mortality and the limited nature of our life, it's only natural that competing opinions on the topic of AI life preservation and recreation will form.    

Would you upload yourself into a cloud as a digital consciousness to be preserved for the future? Do you think that "you" can ever be preserved to be brought back to life as a conscious backup of yourself? Or do you think that even the best AI imitations will be only that, a useful recreation but not a method of actually preserving the future?   

Whatever your thoughts, I think it's likely we will see some impressive technological growth in the area of AI life preserving and extending technologies.