Scott Adams' AI resurrection sparks backlash and an ethics debate

An AI-generated version of Scott Adams has been circulating online, and his family says the digital replica is unauthorized and deeply distressing. Adams once spoke openly about allowing posthumous AI versions of himself, telling a 2021 podcast he had given "explicit permission" for such recreations so long as they sounded compatible with what he might say in life.

Shortly after the 68-year-old's January death, an AI "Scott Adams" account began posting videos of a digital figure speaking about current events and philosophy in a cadence similar to the cartoonist's. The official Adams account, citing statements from his brother, called the creations a "fabricated version" and asked anyone using AI to recreate his voice or likeness to stop; the creator of the digital Adams, John Arrow, says he tried to contact the estate and that he found no evidence Adams revoked his earlier comments.

Scholars and lawyers warn the dispute highlights the legal and ethical fault lines around so-called AI afterlives.

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