University of Worcester Worcester Research and Publications
 
  USER PANEL:
  ABOUT THE COLLECTION:
  CONTACT DETAILS:

The Ethics and Impact of Digital Immortality

Savin-Baden, Maggi, Burden, D. and Taylor, H. (2017) The Ethics and Impact of Digital Immortality. Knowledge Cultures, 5 (2). pp. 178-196. ISSN 2327-5731 Online: 2375-6527

[img]
Preview
Text
11-Savin-Baden et al.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (313kB) | Preview

Abstract

The concept of digital immortality has emerged over the past decade and is defined here as the continuation of an active or passive digital presence after death. Advances in knowledge management, machine to machine communication, data mining and artificial intelligence are now making a more active presence after death possible. This paper examines the research and literature around active digital immortality and explores the emotional, social, financial, and business impact of active digital immortality on relations, friends, colleagues and institutions. The issue of digital immortality also raises issues about the legal implications of a possible autonomous presence that reaches beyond mortal existence, and this will also be investigated. The final section of the paper questions whether digital immortality is really a concern and reflects on the assumptions about it in relation to neoliberal capitalism. It suggests that digital immortality may in fact merely be a clever ruse which in fact is likely to have little, if any legal impact despite media assumptions and hyperbole.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information:

Staff and students at the University of Worcester can access the full-text of the online published article via the official URL. External users should check availability with their local library or Interlibrary Requests Service.

This is the author's accepted manuscript of the article 'The Ethics and Impact of Digital Immortality' published in the journal 'Knowledge Cultures'.

Uncontrolled Discrete Keywords: digital immortality, identity, legislative conundrums, neoliberal capitalism
Subjects: L Education > L Education (General)
Divisions: College of Arts, Humanities and Education > School of Education
Depositing User: Maggi Savin-Baden
Date Deposited: 22 Jun 2018 11:04
Last Modified: 17 Jun 2020 17:23
URI: https://eprints.worc.ac.uk/id/eprint/6726

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item
 
     
Worcester Research and Publications is powered by EPrints 3 which is developed by the School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton. More information and software credits.