By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER<\/p>\n
Published: 09:57 BST, 16 August 2026 | Updated: 09:57 BST, 16 August 2026<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Thanks to the booming new 'grieftech' industry, I no longer need to worry about my memory fading away with time.<\/p>\n
That's because my AI clone will be able to keep on chatting away in place.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
But I don't think my friends and family will be replacing me with a chatbot anytime soon.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
One of the most surprising things about making an AI clone of yourself is just how easy it is.<\/p>\n
All StoryFile needs is a handful of photos, a minute's worth of voice recordings, and a questionnaire to get started.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n