Digital Immortality Ethics Review: Rights Boundaries of Deceased AI Avatars Spark Controversy
Korean AI firm DeepBrain AI was ordered to pay 120 million won to a deceased entertainer's family for unauthorized use of their likeness, spurring digital immortality ethics legislation.
Seoul Central District Court ruled that Korean AI company DeepBrain AI must pay 120 million won (~$90,000) to the family of deceased entertainer Kim for using Kim's pre-death images to train an AI avatar for commercial advertising without authorization. The case is considered a landmark ruling in the "digital immortality" service sector. South Korea's National Assembly immediately accelerated the draft Digital Personality Protection Act, which would require written consent from all direct family members before using a deceased person's data to create an AI avatar. The global digital immortality service market has reached $3.4 billion, but legal regulation lags severely behind.
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