Images of the Dead and Technology: What Bereaved Families Saw in Posthumous Digital Representations (Author-reconstructed bilingual version)

⚠️ CITATION NOTICE — Please cite the original Japanese article, not this Zenodo deposit.

The authoritative citation is:

  Takagi, Ryoko. 「死者像とテクノロジー——遺族たちがAI故人に見たもの——」
  『宗教と社会』(Religion and Society), no. 32, 2026, pp. 1–15.

This Zenodo record provides an author-reconstructed bilingual version 
(English translation + Japanese reconstructed text) for accessibility and 
long-term preservation. When quoting or referring to this work, please 
reference the original Japanese article above.

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This paper bridges the gap between the normative discourse surrounding "Deadbots" and the lived experiences of the bereaved, elucidating their internal meaning-making processes. Based on qualitative research with bereaved families in Japan and Korea, this paper presents a unique "Theory of yohaku" (margins), demonstrating that the "imperfection" of AI functions as a creative space that allows the bereaved to project the deceased. The investigation reveals that fragmentary sensory information, rather than visual verisimilitude, serves as the key to recollection. Drawing on frameworks from aesthetics, engineering, and cognitive science, this paper elucidates this mechanism and defines four dimensions of imperfection that generate these margins: figure, behavior, symbol, and context. Finally, the paper advocates that, for Deadbots, "subtractive design"—rather than high-definition reproduction—is what truly supports the agentic meaning-making of the bereaved.

Note: This is an author-reconstructed bilingual version of the original Japanese paper published in 『宗教と社会』(Religion and Society), no. 32 (2026), pp. 1–15. The PDF contains both the English translation (pp. 1–15) and the Japanese reconstructed version (from p. 16). Please cite the original Japanese article when referencing this work.

This paper received the 2026 Encouragement Award from the Japanese Association for the Study of Religion and Society (JASRS).