Death rituals – how we dispose of people’s physicality and aim to keep their spirituality alive – are often studied as markers of a society’s core values and beliefs. As we begin immortalising our dead with wraithlike AI avatars, I wonder what future civilisations will determine about what our society holds dear.
SenseTime – a leading AI company in China – harnessed its powers earlier this year to allow its recently passed chief executive, Tang Xiao’ou, to speak at a company conference. More recently, a Chinese fan used footage of Qiao Renliang, a singer who died by suicide in 2016, to create an avatar version of his idol, much to the pain of the deceased’s parents. And if the online services are to be believed, almost anyone can create an animated avatar of another person for as little as 20 yuan, or Dh11.
Perhaps, having been fed enough data, a phantom version of me (albeit non-sentient) will be around to know exactly what future humans determine. But if present-day Hayley had to take a punt, it seems perfectly in line for highly nostalgic post-internet generations and reflective of a society that’s grown increasingly self-obsessed in the age of social media. Fitting within a digital landscape where corruption and scandal are quickly mitigated by shareable, smirk-inducing memes.
But when it comes to AI resurrections, where is the line between an act of grief and disregard for the universal etiquette of letting the dead rest in peace? And are we OK with stepping over that line?
I get it; grief is tricky, no matter how it creeps up on you, whether it's a long time coming or out of the blue; over a full life lived or cut too short; be it over a parent, child, pet or parasocial relation; to mourn death, illness or heartbreak.
But grief isn’t supposed to be easy.
The passing of my cousin last year brought forth a cascade of emotions, far from easy to navigate. From the initial shock to the heavy weight of grief, each stage lingered. Like countless others who have experienced loss, my family grappled with the emptiness that now occupied the once lively seat at the dinner table.
It’s hard to digest the idea of never seeing their (three-dimensional) smile again or hearing the reverberations of their laughter bounce off the walls. Instead, you are left to share verbal memories with friends, siblings or even, in extremely tragic cases, parents left behind in the throes of loss.
There’s no severity chart for grief, but if there were, I’m sure losing a child would be right up there. And grief, when we’re in the stage of anger, denial or bargaining, can make us do odd, sometimes extreme things. Case in point, earlier this year, Taiwanese singer Bao Xiaobai turned to technology to reconnect with his daughter, 22, who died in 2022. With just one audio recording of her speaking in English as the original sample, he created a video of her supposedly singing Happy Birthday to her mother. Xiaobai reportedly spent over a year working with AI technology to master this feat.
And when I think about it like that – a desperate need to make it through the most difficult of times – then maybe an AI substitute isn’t so bad. Those in mourning already pore over old social media posts and claw at anecdotes from anyone their beloved has ever crossed paths with, hoping for new character-reaffirming insights. What’s so different about uploading data, pictures and videos to pore over them in AI form – the avatar version of them?
But that’s just it – it's a version of them. One stuck in time then layered with artificial experiences. Ultimately, bringing back my cousin, my beloved aunt or a dear friend who passed away wouldn’t change their sudden end. It would merely be a self-serving tool to help me get by. Absolve me of guilt, offer me comfort, keep me company.
To me, when you love somebody, you want to grow alongside them, experience things together and share life in tandem. Aren’t we doing our dead loved ones a disservice by dragging their digital apparition along for the ride?
Some wounds you just can’t plaster over. While I understand the desire, I can’t see myself looking for the deceased in a digital format.
I’m no therapist, but I'm sure there's something about acceptance in those stages of grief. Coming to terms with (physical) reality, letting go of what was and how things were. Moving forward. As tempting as it is to tap into the powers of AI to postpone that process, I’m not sure a novelty version of those I've loved and lost would do me any good, really.
UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
RESULTS
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,400m
Winner: AF Tathoor, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 1,000m
Winner: Dahawi, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
Winner: Aiz Alawda, Fernando Jara, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
Winner: ES Nahawand, Fernando Jara, Mohammed Daggash
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: Winked, Connor Beasley, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7.30pm: Al Ain Mile Group 3 (PA) Dh350,000 1,600m
Winner: Somoud, Connor Beasley, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
8pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: Al Jazi, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
McIlroy's struggles in 2016/17
European Tour: 6 events, 16 rounds, 5 cuts, 0 wins, 3 top-10s, 4 top-25s, 72,5567 points, ranked 16th
PGA Tour: 8 events, 26 rounds, 6 cuts, 0 wins, 4 top-10s, 5 top-25s, 526 points, ranked 71st
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
