The digital afterlife: Navigating the ethical and temporal boundaries of grieftech perceptions and usage intentions

Losing a loved one is a profound life event, and recent advances in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) have contributed to the emergence of “grieftech,” a new class of technologies designed to simulate interactivity with deceased loved ones. While interest in grieftech is growing, the psychological, temporal, and ethical conditions shaping bereaved individuals' receptivity to such technologies remain underexplored. This study examines bereaved individuals' pre-adoption evaluations of grieftech by investigating how attitudes toward grieftech drive usage intentions through continuing bond, and how this process is influenced by time since loss, engagement, and perceived ethicality. Across two empirical studies, we identify three primary theoretical contributions. Study 1 (n = 197) shows that continuing bond serves as a key mechanism linking positive attitudes toward grieftech to stronger intention to use it. We further identify a “window of adoption receptivity,” such that intention to use grieftech is greater within the earlier years following loss, and this relationship is strengthened by technology-facilitated engagement. Study 2 (n = 200) extends these findings by showing that perceived ethicality functions as an important boundary condition: in emotionally vulnerable settings, ethical perceptions regarding the dignity and consent of the deceased strengthen the translation of favorable attitudes into intention to use grieftech. Overall, the findings suggest that bereaved individuals’ receptivity to grieftech is not uniform, but depends on relational, temporal, and ethical conditions. The study contributes to emerging grieftech research by positioning adoption as a context-sensitive evaluative process rather than as a simple response to technological novelty.