Russian Families Recreate Fallen Soldiers Through AI
Russia Ukraine war
The role of artificial intelligence is transforming how Russian families deal with wartime loss. Starting from mid-2025, social media sites have been flooded with AI-produced videos of soldiers killed or going missing during the war between Russia and Ukraine. In these videos, there are usually happy reunions, last goodbyes, or returns home. They are created by using photographs, voice notes, and personal video clips.
The videos depict soldiers embracing their loved ones, entering heaven, giving last messages, and so on. In most videos, the soldiers are shown as heroes safeguarding their loved ones and motherland. Nonetheless, few depictions capture images of war destruction or the sufferings of Ukrainians. This content is perceived as an idealized image of war with a one-sided story.
Russian blogger Katya Jin contributed to the success of AI videos after producing videos of her soldier husband who was missing in the war. She then gave an opportunity to other families to make similar videos. In another case, Anna Korableva produces hundreds of videos of last meetings for families.
Experts warn that care should be taken. According to Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska, a Cambridge scientist, society is yet to know whether the use of memorials created by artificial intelligence alleviates sadness or prolongs one’s misery. Scientists are now referring to digital resurrection as a huge social and technological experiment.
This practice has even been made profitable. Creators demand fees from a few dollars depending on the complexity of work done. This has led critics to argue that service providers have started exploiting people’s sorrow for profit.
The trend shows that artificial intelligence has been making its presence felt in matters of memories, bereavement, and information influence.
