Immersive Media and User Experience

Vol. 2 (2026)
Articles

Virtual Mourning in the Metaverse: User Acceptance, Needs, and Limitations of AI-Based Memory Avatars

PDF
  • Markus Weinberger,
  • Sarah Schwarz
Markus Weinberger
Aalen University, Germany
Sarah Schwarz
Aalen University, Germany

Published 2026-10-01

Keywords

  • AI-based memory avatars,
  • Metaverse,
  • Digital grief culture,
  • Deadbots,
  • Deathbots,
  • Griefbots,
  • Technology acceptance,
  • Posthumous Identity
    • ...More
    Less
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Virtual Mourning in the Metaverse: User Acceptance, Needs, and Limitations of AI-Based Memory Avatars . (2026). Immersive Media and User Experience, 2, 71-85. https://doi.org/10.65638/2978-8811.2026.2.07

Abstract

Digital transformation is increasingly shaping the ways in which people remember and grieve. While existing platforms and social networks primarily preserve static content, immersive environments such as the metaverse and advances in generative artificial intelligence (AI) enable the creation of interactive, AI-based memory avatars, often also referred to as “griefbots” or “deadbots”. This study examines the perceptions, acceptance, opportunities, as well as psychosocial and ethical limitations of such avatars from the perspective of potential users. To provide an empirical foundation, an interactive prototype was developed and evaluated as part of a quantitative study (N = 33). These results were supplemented by qualitative guided interviews with experts in grief counseling, psychotherapy, and pastoral care. The findings paint a highly ambivalent picture: While respondents see potential in preserving life stories or in processing missed goodbyes, concerns regarding emotional dependence, difficulties in accepting loss, and ethical and data protection risks dominate. The Behavioral Intention to use the technology depends largely on Perceived Usefulness (r = 0.74) and Emotional Impact (r = 0.82), rather than purely on user interface elements. Experts emphasize that simulated interactions must not hinder the necessary process of letting go. The study concludes with recommendations for transparency requirements, time limits, and clear ethical safeguards for vulnerable groups.

PDF

References

  1. J. R. Brubaker, G. R. Hayes and P. Dourish, "Beyond the Grave: Facebook as a site for the expansion of death and mourning," The Information Society, vol. 29, no. 3, p. 12, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2013.777300
  2. N. Fischer, "Von der Todesanzeige bis Facebook: Trauerkultur und Medien," in tv diskurs no. 37, 2015, p. 6.
  3. M. Weinberger, "What Is Metaverse?—A Definition Based on Qualitative Meta-Synthesis," Future Internet, vol. 14, no. 11, 2022. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi14110310
  4. T. Hollanek and K. Nowaczyk-Basińska, "Griefbots, Deadbots, Postmortem Avatars: on Responsible Applications of Generative AI in the Digital Afterlife Industry," Philosophy & Technology, vol. 37, no. 2, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-024-00744-w
  5. H. R. Resendiz and J. Rodriguez, "Digital resurrection: Challenging the boundary between life and death with artificial intelligence," philosophies, vol. 9, no. 3, p. 9, 2024. https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies9030071
  6. M. R. Morris and J. R. Brubaker, "Generative Ghosts: Anticipating Benefits and Risks of AI Afterlives," Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1-14, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713758
  7. T. Walter, R. Hourizi, W. Moncur and S. Pitsillides, "Does the internet change how we die and mourn?," OMEGA—Journal of Death and Dying, vol. 64, no. 4, pp. 275-302, 2011. https://doi.org/10.2190/OM.64.4.a
  8. A. Marwick and N. B. Ellison, "“There Isn't Wifi in Heaven!” Negotiating Visibility on Facebook Memorial Pages," Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 378-400, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2012.705197
  9. A. Haverinen, "Death and Mourning Rituals in Online Environments," J@RGONIA, p. 7, 2014.
  10. A. Offerhaus, K. Keithan and A. Kimmer, "Trauerbewältigung online: Praktiken und Motive der Nutzung von Trauerforen," Social Science Open Access Repository (GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences), vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 275-297, 2013.
  11. M. Arnold, M. Gibbs, T. Kohn, J. Meese and B. Nansen, Death and Digital Media, London: Routledge, 2017. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315688749
  12. M. Savin-Baden and V. Mason-Robbie, Digital Afterlife: Death Matters in a Digital Age, New York: Chapman & Hall/CRC, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429322198
  13. M. Savin-Baden and D. Burden, "Digital Immortality and Virtual Humans," Postdigital Science and Education, pp. 87-103, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-018-0007-6
  14. C. Öhman and L. Floridi, "The Political Economy of Death in the Age of Information: A Critical Approach to the Digital Afterlife Industry," Minds and Machines, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 639-662, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11023-017-9445-2
  15. M. Savin-Baden, "Postdigital Afterlife?," Postdigit Sci Educ, no. 1, pp. 303-306, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-019-00056-9
  16. C. M. Hansen, "In the End We Become Our Avatars: An Exploration of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Afterlives," Journal of Visual and Media Anthropology, no. 8, pp. 1-16, 2024.
  17. Y. Lei, S. Ma, Y. Sun and X. Ma, ""AI Afterlife" as Digital Legacy: Perceptions, expectations, and concerns," Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '25), 2025. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713933
  18. S. M. Campbell, P. Liu and S. Nyholm, "Can Chatbots Preserve Our Relationships with the Dead?," Journal of the American Philosophical Association, pp. 230-248, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1017/apa.2025.1
  19. K. Linden, "The Talking Dead: Voice-Cloning Yourself to AI Afterlife Services.," Thanatos, vol. 13, no. 2, 2025. https://doi.org/10.57124/thanatos.160215
  20. C. Kyrlitsias and D. Michael-Grigoriou, "Social interaction with agents and avatars in immersive virtual environments: A survey," Frontiers in Virtual Reality, vol. 2, 2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2021.786665
  21. I. Geissler, "Leben in Metaversen und im Virtual Afterlife: Chancen und Risiken zukünftiger Formen des virtuellen (Weiter-)Lebens," in INFORMATIK 2023 - Designing Futures: Zukünfte gestalten, Bonn, Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V., 2023, pp. 511-521.
  22. H. Frey, Metaverse und die Dynamik der digitalen Transformation, Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-46711-1
  23. J. Krueger and L. Osler, "Communing with the Dead Online: Chatbots, Grief, and Continuing Bonds," Journal of Consciousness Studies, vol. 29, no. 10, pp. 222-252, 2022. https://doi.org/10.53765/20512201.29.9.222
  24. F. F. Rovetta and D. Valentini, "Grief and virtual reality: continuing bonds with virtual avatars," Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, no. 25, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11097-025-10072-9
  25. M. Schroeter-Rupieper, "Lebenskreise," 2021. [Online]. Available: https://lebenskreise.at/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/LAVIA_Trauermodell_Erklaerung_A5_18062021.pdf. [Accessed Feb 13, 2026].
  26. M. Schröter-Rupieper, Praxisbuch Lavia Lebensweg- und Trauermodell, Ostfildern: Patmos Verlag, 2024.
  27. C. Paul (Ed.), Neue Wege in der Trauer- und Sterbebegleitung, Deutschland: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2021.
  28. C. Paul, "TrauerKaleidoskop," found.media, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://www.trauerkaleidoskop.de/modell-trauerkaleidoskop-kaleidoskop-des-trauerns-chris-paul/. [Accessed Feb 18, 2026].
  29. N. Vahid-Moghtada, "Wenn Tote durch Avatare ersetzt werden," tagesschau, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.tagesschau.de/wissen/technologie/ki-trauer-100.html. [Accessed Dec 4, 2025].
  30. M. Fu, H. Xiao, H. Ruan, Y. Lin and X. Dong, "Grieving in virtual worlds: emotional processes and generational differences in avatar-based memorials on VRChat," Frontiers in Psychology, no. 16, 2025. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1669020
  31. Y. Li and X. Lan, "Remember You: Understanding How Users Use Deadbots to Reconstruct Memories of the Deceased," in Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’26), Barcelona, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1145/3772363.3798614
  32. V. Venkatesh, M. G. Morris, G. B. Davis and F. D. Davis, "User Acceptance of Information Technology: Toward a Unified View," MIS Quarterly, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 425-478, 2003. https://doi.org/10.2307/30036540
  33. I. A. C. Jimenez, L. C. C. García, M. G. Violante, F. Marcolin and E. Vezzetti, "Commonly Used External TAM Variables in e-Learning, Agriculture and Virtual Reality Applications," future internet, vol. 13, no. 7, p. 21, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi13010007
  34. R. Ammicht Quinn, J. Heesen, M. Hennig, M. Meitzler, I. Geissler, T. Kunz and U. Waldmann, "Ethik, Recht und Sicherheit des digitalen Weiterlebens - Forschungsergebnisse und Gestaltungsvorschläge zum Umgang mit Avataren und Chatbots von Verstorbenen," Fraunhofer-Institut für Sichere Informationstechnologie SIT, Tübingen/Darmstadt, 2024.
  35. J. Pierer, "Postmortaler Brief- und Bildnisschutz," Verlag Österreich, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-18396-7
  36. S. Funk, Das Erbe im Netz: Rechtslage und Praxis des digitalen Nachlasses, Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien, 2017.
  37. A. G. Bosworth, "Simulation of a user of a social networking system using a language model". United States Patent US12513102B2, 2025.
  38. C. Worthy and R. Geyser, "Introducing the HoloAvatar: Human connection, reimagined in the age of AI.," 2wai, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.2wai.ai/. [Accessed Dec 21, 2025].
  39. N. Bechtle and M. Weinberger, "Applying the Metaverse to Real-world Citizen Participation – First Results from a Field Experiment," in 58th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), Hawaii, 2025. https://doi.org/10.24251/HICSS.2025.259
  40. T. Lauser and M. Weinberger, "Does Appearance Matter? A Technology Acceptance Study of Mixed Reality Avatars in Citizen Services," Future Internet, vol. 3, no. 18, 2026. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi18030169
  41. Y. Lei, S. Ma, Y. Sun and X. Ma, "“AI Afterlife” as Digital Legacy: Perceptions, Expectations, and Concerns," in CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’25), Yokohama, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713933