AI Digital Avatars of Deceased People

Chinese tech executive Sun Kai speaks with a digital avatar of his deceased mother created by AI at his company Silicon Intelligence when stressed. The rise of AI simulations of deceased people raises ethical questions about simulating human beings, dead or alive.

Stimulus Payments to Deceased Individuals During COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, stimulus checks were mistakenly sent to deceased individuals, with the majority of these payments occurring during the Trump administration. A recent social media post falsely claimed that these payments happened under the Biden administration, resurrecting an old issue. The post by OpenTheBooks.com inaccurately stated that Biden paid 2.2 million dead people $3.6 billion, when in reality, the payments occurred before Biden took office. The government reports and media coverage at the time shed light on this issue. The payments to deceased individuals were a result of operational policies and procedures that did not include using death records as a filter to prevent payments to decedents.