A new AI app from Los Angeles startup 2Wai allows users to create lifelike digital avatars of deceased loved ones, sparking viral fascination and fierce ethical debate over memory, grief and the commercialization of loss. (Source: Image by RR)

Critics Warn the Technology Exploits Grief and Emotional Vulnerability

A Los Angeles startup called 2Wai has ignited fierce debate after launching an app that lets users create interactive AI avatars of deceased loved ones. The app, as noted in interestingengineering.com, allows people to design what it calls “HoloAvatars” that look, talk, and even remember like the dead. Co-founder Calum Worthy unveiled the product in a viral video showing a woman conversing with a digital recreation of her late mother—who later reads bedtime stories to her grandchild. “With 2Wai, three minutes can last forever,” the company’s tagline proclaims, as it positions itself as a platform for digital legacy and storytelling.

The emotional demonstration quickly went viral, earning over 4 million views on X (formerly Twitter), but also drawing heavy criticism. Many viewers labeled the concept “nightmare fuel,” “demonic,” and a violation of emotional boundaries. The idea of a child growing up with an AI replica of a deceased family member struck a nerve, with critics warning that it could distort grief, attachment, and memory. Commentators compared 2Wai’s vision to the Black Mirror episode “Be Right Back,” in which a grieving woman interacts with an AI version of her late partner—an allegory that now feels uncomfortably real.

Supporters, however, see 2Wai as an opportunity to preserve human stories and voices, capturing memories that would otherwise fade with time. Worthy defended the app as part of his vision to build a “living archive of humanity,” where families can continue communicating across generations. The company’s technology uses AI to simulate speech patterns, personalities, and shared memories—allowing people to “keep loved ones part of the future,” as Worthy describes it. Some users even celebrated the idea of reconnecting with lost parents or grandparents through voice and visual preservation.

Yet ethicists warn that such technology blurs the line between remembrance and replacement. The rise of hyperrealistic avatars and generative AI systems capable of simulating personalities raises questions about consent, identity and the commercialization of grief. As robotics and AI embodiment progress, experts caution that physical androids of the deceased could be next. Whether 2Wai represents comfort, closure, or commodified loss, it has opened a new—and deeply unsettling—front in the intersection of AI and human emotion.

read more at interestingengineering.com