Today's AI is not just cutting-edge technology; it is becoming an essential assistant in planning and managing everything in our digital world, both during life and after we are gone, known as "AI personal assistant for organizing digital life after death." Although Thai law is still in its early stages regarding this matter, AI can help prepare in various interesting ways, as follows.
AI Scan & Identify: Imagine AI scanning your emails, cloud storage, and all your online activities to identify which accounts are still active, including social media, online banking, cryptocurrency, photos, videos, and subscriptions. This data can then be managed or closed according to your wishes. It also includes Automated Categorization, where AI sorts these digital assets into categories such as financially valuable accounts, emotionally significant accounts, or those to be deleted, and provides initial guidance on handling them.
Additionally, AI assists in drafting wills and directives using AI-powered templates. Although Thai wills must currently be written and witnessed, AI can create preliminary digital will drafts. The templates cover appointing digital estate managers, instructions for managing social media accounts, or data transfer. Tools like Language & Clarity Check use AI to review the language for clarity, completeness, and alignment with your intentions, ensuring all instructions are properly expressed.
Automated Notification allows you to program AI to send messages or instructions to designated individuals such as estate managers, family, or close friends at predetermined times—for example, when AI detects prolonged inactivity on accounts or receives death information. Personalized Messages enable AI to craft personal notes to important people, conveying feelings, love, or guidance after your passing.
Memorialization/Deletion Guidance: Most social media platforms have policies for handling deceased users' accounts. AI can advise on procedures and provide relevant links to notify these platforms. Content Curation (with caution): In the future, AI might help manage social media content after death, such as automatically creating memorial posts or selecting photos and videos to preserve. This area requires careful consideration of privacy and ethical issues in line with future laws.
Secure Password Vaults involve AI-powered password managers that securely store all login information and grant access to authorized persons at the appropriate time. Familiar systems like Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Management use AI to handle 2FA—which often complicates posthumous access—by storing backup codes or providing instructions for estate managers.
AI Chatbots/Avatars (Emerging Trend): This concept is developing where AI learns your personality, speech style, and memories from digital data to create chatbots or avatars that interact with loved ones after your death. However, this technology raises significant ethical concerns that require thorough consideration.
Curated Memories: AI helps collect and organize photos, videos, and messages to create digital albums or life timelines, serving as memories for future generations to remember you by.
While AI is an impressive assistant, there are limitations and important issues to consider, especially in Thailand where laws and wills still emphasize written documents and witnesses. Using AI to create wills may not yet be legally recognized. Therefore, "consulting an expert lawyer is absolutely essential."
Privacy and security are crucial because entrusting AI with large amounts of personal data requires robust security systems to prevent data leaks or unauthorized access.
The ethics of using AI to create a "digital identity" after death is a sensitive and widely debated topic. Careful consideration is needed regarding its impact on the feelings of surviving loved ones.
Although AI has these capabilities, platforms or services using AI for post-death life planning in Thailand are not yet as widespread as abroad. Most Thai services focus on consultation with death planners or legal documentation by lawyers.
AI holds great potential as a tool to manage digital legacy and plan life after death in the digital age, especially in data gathering, organization, and communication. However, the key is to understand national laws and choose trustworthy services or tools, along with consulting legal and estate planning experts to ensure your wishes are properly and fully honored.