Chinese mourners turn to AI to remember and ‘revive’ loved ones

A digital clone of Tang Xiao'ou, the founder of SenseTime, delivers a speech after Tang’s death. Photograph: 商汤科技SenseTime/Weibo

As millions of people across China travel to the graves of their ancestors to pay their respects for the annual tomb-sweeping festival – a traditional day to honour and maintain the graves of the dead - a new way of remembering, and reviving, their beloved relatives is being born.

For as little as 20 yuan (£2.20), Chinese netizens can create a moving digital avatar of their loved one, according to some services advertised online. So this year, to mark tomb-sweeping festival on Thursday, innovative mourners are turning to artificial intelligence to commune with the departed.