But having said that, is "loneliness" the correct (or only) takeaway on that? I mean, there are people toying with the idea of uploading emails and documents of the deceased to an LLM so relatives can still "talk" to them.
I don't have a word for what that kind of world looks like.
I can very much see a future where that technology is a useful tool in helping people through grief and loss, or for experiencing parts of the world that you otherwise can't (prohibitively expensive; you have disabilities that prevent accessing it).
Examples:
- Replaying interactions with a beloved pet who has died. Reliving taking your dog to the dog park or playing with your cat.
- Replaying interactions with parents/grandparents/friends who have died, or have been altered by a debilitating illness such as ALS or Alzheimer's
- Reliving memories of taking a trip somewhere that you couldn't easily go to again (different country, national park, etc)
- Spatial experiences of beautiful parts of the earth that you've never been to
In the current world, we rely on our own imperfect memories and the inadequate still photos and 2D videos. This type of thing could end up a gamechanger in 5-10 years.