By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER
Published: 09:57 BST, 16 August 2026 | Updated: 09:57 BST, 16 August 2026
From the very first pile of rocks to the Great Pyramids of Giza, people have always wanted to keep their memory alive well after they've passed away.
But I won't need any boring old headstone to remind people about my life when I shuffle off this mortal coil: I'll be able to do it myself.
Thanks to the booming new 'grieftech' industry, I no longer need to worry about my memory fading away with time.
That's because my AI clone will be able to keep on chatting away in place.
In the last few years, grieftech has gone from a fringe idea among AI enthusiasts to a real service that more and more families are turning to.
These controversial 'dead-bots' combine interviews, written information, pictures, and videos to create an AI that should look, talk, and react just like a lost loved one.
So, when Los Angeles-based tech company StoryFile offered to make an AI clone of me, I wanted to know whether anyone would really accept my digital replacement.
But I don't think my friends and family will be replacing me with a chatbot anytime soon.
The Daily Mail's Wiliam Hunter has had an AI 'grieftech' clone (pictured) made to replace him after his death, but his family are not impressed by the results
One of the most surprising things about making an AI clone of yourself is just how easy it is.
All StoryFile needs is a handful of photos, a minute's worth of voice recordings, and a questionnaire to get started.
StoryFile's CTO, Dr Veronica Jones, sent me about 60 questions covering everything from my earliest childhood memories to the message I'd like to leave behind for people in the future.
A lot of those questions felt deeply personal, and were definitely not the kind of thing I was used to handing over to a company.