Digital Doppelgangers: Ethical and Societal Implications of Pre-Mortem AI Clones

Consent and control are foundational concerns: The paper identifies that as AI clones become more autonomous, questions about who owns these digital replicas and whether individuals have meaningful control over how their likenesses are used become increasingly complex—suggesting current legal frameworks are inadequate to protect people's rights over their own digital twins.

Identity fragmentation poses psychological risks: Beyond privacy concerns, the existence of AI clones that can act independently raises questions about how individuals and their social circles may experience psychological effects from interacting with autonomous versions of themselves or loved ones, a largely unexplored dimension of this technology.

Current laws don't adequately address digital rights: The paper highlights significant "regulatory gaps in digital rights and privacy laws," indicating that existing legal protections were not designed for scenarios where AI systems can replicate and potentially act as autonomous versions of real people without their ongoing consent.

Unauthorized cloning and data exploitation are real risks: The technology enables bad actors to create digital replicas of people without permission, using personal data to build convincing AI clones—a threat that extends beyond traditional privacy violations to questions of identity theft and impersonation at scale.

A governance framework balancing innovation with protection is needed: Rather than blocking the technology, the paper proposes that responsible deployment requires new safeguards around identity preservation, explicit consent mechanisms, and clear accountability structures that align AI development with societal values.