Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
What does it mean to cope with death, to resist it, or to imagine transcending it altogether?
As digital technologies increasingly preserve our voices, images, and messages, new forms of “digital immortality” are emerging—from AI chatbots trained on the dead to virtual avatars and memory archives. These innovations raise powerful ethical, emotional, and cultural questions about how we remember, mourn, and live on.
This interdisciplinary event presented insights from "Imaginaries of Immortality in the Age of AI", a major research project led by Dr Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska (University of Cambridge), based on fieldwork in Poland, India, and China between late 2024 and spring 2025. Through the project’s presentation, a short documentary, and a panel discussion, the evening explored how different cultures understand death, memory, and technology.
The event also included a photo installation by artist Tomasz Siuda and curated by Dr Nowaczyk-Basińska, which featured portraits of participants from the project’s nine “(Im)mortality over Dinner” research gatherings. Taking place in India, Poland, and China, these dinners gathered around 70 individuals to reflect on their hopes and fears about AI and the potential for digital immortality.
What does it mean to cope with death, to resist it, or to imagine transcending it altogether?
As digital technologies increasingly preserve our voices, images, and messages, new forms of “digital immortality” are emerging—from AI chatbots trained on the dead to virtual avatars and memory archives. These innovations raise powerful ethical, emotional, and cultural questions about how we remember, mourn, and live on.
This interdisciplinary event presented insights from "Imaginaries of Immortality in the Age of AI", a major research project led by Dr Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska (University of Cambridge), based on fieldwork in Poland, India, and China between late 2024 and spring 2025. Through the project’s presentation, a short documentary, and a panel discussion, the evening explored how different cultures understand death, memory, and technology.
The event also included a photo installation by artist Tomasz Siuda and curated by Dr Nowaczyk-Basińska, which featured portraits of participants from the project’s nine “(Im)mortality over Dinner” research gatherings. Taking place in India, Poland, and China, these dinners gathered around 70 individuals to reflect on their hopes and fears about AI and the potential for digital immortality.
