Startups working in the death tech or grief tech industry have designed different approaches that enable users to communicate with the dead, via text, video, audio, or photorealist avatars. The technology represents a recent shift from photography to artificial intelligence as a tool for remembering the deceased.

Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood’s Ginger Media & Entertainment, a writer and researcher on technology and entertainment, an MFA photographer and filmmaker, and host of the podcast The Digital Afterlife of Grief.

The rise of posthumous AI avatars represents a major shift in how technology interacts with death. What began as memorial tools allowing loved ones to interact with digital recreations of the deceased has evolved into an expanding commercial industry. The digital afterlife market is expected to quadruple in the next decade, reaching $80 billion, driven by advances in avatar technology.

Ginger Liu MFA is the founder of Hollywood’s Ginger Media & Entertainment, a writer and researcher on technology and entertainment, a multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker, and host of the podcast The Digital Afterlife of Grief.

OpenAI Targets Hollywood with AI Films as New Investment

Warner Bros. sues AI company Midjourney for copyright infringement

The global AI avatar market

Anthropic agrees to pay $1.5 billion in copyright settlement

The global AI avatar market was valued at $7.41 billion in 2024. It is expected to grow from $9.78 billion in 2025 to $118.55 billion by 2034.

OpenAI is making its Hollywood debut by backing Critterz, an animated feature largely created with artificial intelligence.

Ginger Liu MFA is the founder of Hollywood’s Ginger Media & Entertainment, a writer and researcher on technology and entertainment, a multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker, and host of the podcast The Digital Afterlife of Grief.

North America dominates AI film market with $500m in revenue and a 40% global share. Moonvalley Unveils Marey AI Video Tool for Filmmakers. AI to restore 100 classic kung fu films and debut first fully AI-made animated feature.Denmark to introduce new copyright law targeting deepfakesBBC threatens legal action against Perplexity for unauthorized content useEquity warns legal action over actors scanned without consentJudge rules in favour of Meta in AI copyright lawsuit by authors

Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood’s Ginger Media & Entertainment, a researcher in artificial intelligence and visual arts media, and an entrepreneur, author, writer, artist, photographer, and filmmaker. Listen to the Podcast — The Digital Afterlife of Grief.

Google Study Examines Risks of Using AI to Replicate the Deceased

The Digital Afterlife Startup Craze and The Digital Afterlife of Hollywood

A growing wave of startups has promised to keep conversations alive with loved ones long after they are gone by creating custom AI agents that do more than replay old memories, but generate entirely new conversations.

Startups building AI digital replicas are riding a wave of explosive growth as the generative AI market surges toward an estimated $62.7 billion in 2025, with projections showing the broader AI industry reaching as high as $757 billion this year and potentially $3.6 trillion by 2034.

Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood’s Ginger Media & Entertainment, a researcher in artificial intelligence and visual arts media, and an entrepreneur, author, writer, artist, photographer, and filmmaker. Listen to the Podcast — The Digital Afterlife of Grief.

Largo.ai, Backed by Sylvester Stallone, Partners with Brilliant Pictures to Launch World’s First Fully AI-Automated Film Company

Auschwitz Memorial Unveils Digital Replica Project for Virtual Film Location at Cannes Market

Europe’s Film and TV Dubbers Fight with AI

Factors Driving Growth in the AI Film Market

Writing Lessons from an AI-Resurrected Agatha Christie

Soundcloud Faces Backlash But Denies Training AI Using Artists' Work

Meta Removes Fake AI Ads Featuring Jamie Lee Curtis After She Appeals Directly to Zuckerberg

Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood’s Ginger Media & Entertainment, a researcher in artificial intelligence and visual arts media, and an entrepreneur, author, writer, artist, photographer, and filmmaker. Listen to the Podcast — The Digital Afterlife of Grief.

AI-Powered Digital Twins of Deceased Loved Ones, AI twins serving as mentors, tutors, or interactive textbooks, New Oscar Rules for AI, Arcana Labs AI Film Production Takes on Hollywood

In Europe, the Paris AI Policy Action summit in February failed to deliver significant regulation. In the United States, the new administration’s March directive from the National Institute of Standards and Technology removed references to “AI safety” and “AI fairness.” At the same time, Meta and other platforms have dismantled fact-checking operations, fueling a wave of AI-generated video content that is overwhelming the internet, with some pieces drawing hundreds of millions of views.

Film & TV Marketing Gets a Boost from AI Eye-Tracking

SAG-AFTRA’s New Commercials Deal Puts AI in Check

Natasha Lyonne Makes Feature Directorial Debut with AI Sci-Fi Film

Arcana Labs AI Film Production Takes on Hollywood

New Oscar Rules for AI

AI-Powered Digital Twins of Deceased Loved Ones

Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood’s Ginger Media & Entertainment, a researcher in artificial intelligence and visual arts media, and an entrepreneur, author, writer, artist, photographer, and filmmaker. Listen to the Podcast — The Digital Afterlife of Grief.

Generative AI is changing how people use photography to grieve and remember. Instead of static images, photos of the deceased are now animated to move and speak, giving families new ways to connect with lost loved ones. While some find comfort in these digital interactions, others question their authenticity and impact. This shift challenges more than a century of photographic tradition, altering how we process loss and keep memories alive.

Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood’s Ginger Media & Entertainment, a researcher in artificial intelligence and visual arts media, and an entrepreneur, author, writer, artist, photographer, and filmmaker. Listen to the Podcast — The Digital Afterlife of Grief.