AI-Generated ‘Digital Marilyn’ Chatbot Debuts at SXSW

The ‘Digital Marilyn’ raises concerns about reanimating dead celebrities without their consent.

Visitors look at Alfred Eisenstaedt's "Marilyn Monroe, Hollywood, USA, 1953" during the "Life. I grandi fotografi" ("Life. The great photographers") exhibition at the auditorium in Rome, Italy, on April 30, 2013. Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images

Marilyn Monroe, who passed away in 1962 at the age of 36, was artificially brought back to life at South by Southwest, commonly referred to as SXSW, a conference and series of festivals held every March in Austin, Texas.

Soul Machines, a New Zealand-based company that uses biological artificial intelligence (AI) technology to create digital people, unveiled a life-like “Digital Marilyn” during this year’s event—raising ethical concerns about using deceased celebrities’ voices and appearances after their deaths.