The Weekend Intelligence: Digital Ghosts

After a visit to Ukraine last week, our defence editor reports on a new phase of the war as Kyiv and other civilian targets are bombarded by Russian missiles. He also visits an elite Ukrainian drone unit. Why alcohol companies are scrambling to innovate. And remembering the life ...  Show more

The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the first time since July 2023. For the central bank’s new chair Kevin Warsh, that decision was a test both of monetary policy and politics. A governor’s election in Okinawa is a boon to Japan’s military ambitions. And why summer ...  Show more

As life moves progressively online, it is becoming increasingly possible to keep people alive in the digital sense. Tech companies are starting to use AI to simulate the personalities of the dead from the data they’ve left behind. The Economist’s science correspondent ...

Griefbots, artificial intelligence chatbots that mimic deceased loved ones, are increasingly in popularity. Researcher Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska reflects on what death, grief and immortality look like in the digital age. She shares insights from a project that she is leading as ...  Show more

Cemetery Historian Katie Thornton on what happens to our digital selves when we die. Where are the cemeteries for our digital ghosts and who's looking after them? Produced by Eliza Lomas and Becky Ripley. Don’t forget to take part in our Forest 404 Experiment to see how you respo ...  Show more

We look at a growing trend using artificial intelligence (AI) to 'connect' people to loved ones who have died.The grief tech sector, also called "death tech", is now valued at more than £100bn globally, according to tech news website TechRound.We hear from the people using techno ...  Show more