Is it ethical to digitally resurrect deceased celebrities for entertainment?

Digitally resurrecting deceased celebrities—using AI, CGI, or deepfake technology to recreate a person's image, voice, or likeness—has become an emerging trend in the entertainment industry. These virtual performances range from holographic concerts (like Tupac Shakur’s 2012 Coachella appearance) to digitally de-aged actors in films and even fully synthetic roles played by deceased stars through archival footage and AI-generated dialogue. This practice builds on longstanding traditions in film and art of reusing, representing, or reinterpreting the dead. However, digital resurrection marks a new level of realism and autonomy, where a person’s image can be manipulated to speak lines they never said or appear in scenes they never acted. This has become possible through advances in machine learning, motion capture, voice synthesis, and 3D modeling. Historically, the legal framework for controlling a person's image after death is known as *posthumous publicity rights*, which vary by jurisdiction. In places like California, these rights can extend up to 70 years after death, typically controlled by an estate. Yet laws lag behind technology—especially in regulating synthetic performances where no original footage exists. Culturally, the idea echoes older traditions of ancestor veneration, portraiture, and storytelling, but now intersects with commercial media and intellectual property law.