Ethics
Why we built it
Before building InMemories we asked ourselves a thousand questions. Probably the same ones you're asking right now.
The questions
Is it right to recreate someone who is gone? Is it respectful? Can it hurt those who remain? These are serious questions, and we asked them before writing a single line of code. On ethics there are many views, and no right or wrong that holds for everyone: the only thing that counts is each person's own view. Yours, for you.
Who we think of
We chose to build this tool thinking of the situations where it can bring comfort. Someone facing a long illness, with young children they won't see grow up, who wants to leave them their voice, their stories, their advice. Someone who wants to say a last goodbye calmly, when they feel ready. Someone who only knew a parent through photos and relatives' stories, and would like to hear them tell it themselves. What looks dystopian at first glance turns out, up close, to be positive, useful, natural.
We've been here before
In the mid-1800s it seemed unsettling to 'freeze' a person's face on a piece of paper. Then photography entered every home. With home videos, seeing someone who had passed moving again felt strange; today it's a treasure we keep. We quickly get used to what helps us keep our loved ones close. InMemories is the next step: a new way to stay beside the people we love, and to leave a vivid, real, lasting testament.
The rules we set
An InMemories avatar is a reconstruction: it never pretends to be the person, and says so if you ask. It exists only with the consent of the rightful person: yours, if you record yourself; the family's, with a statement of responsibility, for someone who is gone. Video calls of someone who has passed require a rights verification. The memories stay yours: no data is sold, and you can ask for deletion at any time.
If, after reading this, you feel InMemories is for you, we're here. If you think it isn't, that's fine too: it's a choice we respect.