‘I created my mom and talk to her’: AI ghosts and deathslop are changing the way we mourn

<p>The rise of AI-generated tributes and bots for ‘talking’ to the dead has experts concerned more people will grieve in isolation</p><p>Tributes rolled in after the death of Dolly Parton last month. Jack White <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/jack-white-jolene-dolly-parton-death-london-cover-video-1236324671/">performed</a> Jolene at a London gig. Kesha <a href="https://x.com/daisyisOG/status/2092453079786434694?s=20">sang</a> Old Flames (Can’t Hold a Candle to You), a single her mother wrote for the country music titan. Even Pitbull <a href="https://x.com/pitbull/status/2092461967248437554?s=20">stopped</a> his Madison Square Garden show to memorialize Parton and all the other “powerful women” in the crowd. But one of the strangest – and most viral – eulogies did not come from a celebrity. It did not even come from a person.</p><p>Run Jolene, at just under five minutes, is an earworm of a country song, containing all the cliches of the genre: twangy singer, banjo licks, corny lyrics. Those lyrics concern Jolene, the fictional romantic rival made infamous by Parton. “Somebody better warn Jolene / Dolly’s coming through those gates,” the voice croons. “Run Jolene / Girl you better move your feet.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/15/ai-grief-bot-death-isolation">Continue reading...</a>