Digital Mortality and Griefbots: A Cross-Sectional Study About The Portuguese Population’s Perception

This cross-sectional study explores the Portuguese public’s perception of griefbots - AI systems that mediate grief by simulating deceased loved ones. Based on a survey that yielded 276 valid responses from Portuguese resi-dents aged 18 or older, the study analysed, through descriptive and inferen-tial (chi-squared tests) statistics, acceptability, perceived risks or concerns, and willingness to pay, framing the findings within a PESTEL strategic management analysis. Acceptance is hindered by a distrust in sharing per-sonal data with AI across all generations. The descriptive results show high refusal to learn how to chat with griefbots among Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X. Baby Boomers stand out as the only group with notable openness. All cohorts showed caution toward griefbots. Key concerns include the fear emotional dependence, denial, and prolonged grief. Ethical worries focus on recreating the deceased without consent and the commercialization of hu-man suffering. Millennials and Gen Z strongly prefer simulation warnings, contrasting with Baby Boomer’s preference for realism. Regarding economic value, Millennials emerge as the most receptive cohort, showing a prefer-ence for a one-time payment model, while Gen Z favours the freemium mod-el. Strategically, griefbots occupy a regulatory grey area concerning posthu-mous data rights and faces long-term sustainability threats due to the envi-ronmental impact of large-scale AI infrastructure.