Episode 21: resurrection - it’s not just for religion anymore

When artificial intelligence stops replacing the living and starts reviving the dead, where do we draw the line? In this Halloween special, Algorithmic Anxiety hosts Wayne and Dave dissect the eerie world of AI resurrection—from deepfaked celebrities like Robin Williams and George Michael performing new scenes they never filmed, to biotech startups using CRISPR and machine learning to bring back woolly mammoths and dire wolves. Learn how Generative Adversarial Networks create disturbingly realistic synthetic performances and why California just made digital legacies licensable property.

This episode confronts the ethics of consent beyond death, the ecological dangers of resurrecting extinct predators with no natural habitat, and whether we're honoring the past or exploiting it for profit. Is AI-powered resurrection preservation or necromancy? Tribute or digital puppetry? Dive into the uncanny valley where algorithms blur memory, grief, and corporate control.

Resources for this episode include:

Digital resurrection and cultural preservation https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20230823-how-deepfakes-are-reshaping-celebrity

Controversy around Robin Williams & George Michael digital resurrection

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/04/05/robin-williams-ai-controversy

Scientists say they have resurrected the dire wolf.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/07/science/dire-wolf-de-extinction-cloning-colossal

- The bioethics of de‑extinction. PubMed Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11895750/