You didn't expect this conversation. You didn't see it coming in your news feed or your doctor's office. But somewhere out there, a grieving family is paying a monthly subscription fee to hear what sounds like their loved one's voice, and the company behind it is counting on them never wanting to stop.

In this episode, we take on one of the most emotionally complex questions technology has ever put in front of us: what happens when AI can simulate the presence of someone who has died? What Forbes is already calling "resurrection-as-a-service" is not science fiction; it's a growing industry, already generating real revenue from real grief. And a 2026 Hebrew University study has given it a name that's hard to forget: spectral labor, the dead, put back to work by the living, without consent.

In this episode:

• What "resurrection-as-a-service" actually is, and how companies like HereAfter AI build chatbots and voice clones from texts, voicemails, photos, and social media posts

• The story of a man in our community, early 70s, 44 years of marriage, and the question he asked that had no easy answer

• What "spectral labor" means, and why researchers are using it to describe what these services do to the deceased

• The difference between grief support and grief suspension, and why that line matters most for people who are already isolated

• The business model behind these services, and why their financial incentive is never for you to finish grieving

• The questions you should be asking yourself now, before someone you love is in pain and making this decision for you

Questions worth sitting with:

• Do you want an AI version of yourself to exist after you're gone?
• Would you want your grandchildren to be able to talk to something that sounds like you?
• Would you want the people who love you to grieve you fully, or to have access to a substitute that might make that harder?
• Have you made your wishes known while you still can?

📚 Resources & Community:

• 🌐 Tech 4 Grown-Ups Website: https://www.tech4grownups.com

• 👥 Join the Free Community: https://www.tech4grownups.com/community

• 📬 Weekly Newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/tech4grownupsnewsletter

🎧 Watch the video where we touch on this subject on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7J_j1AA0jkc

📖 Full transcript and blog post: https://www.tech4grownups.com/post/transcript-episode-14-when-ai-brings-back-the-dead-and-who-really-benefits

🔗 Referenced in this episode:

• HereAfter AI: https://www.hereafter.ai

• Hebrew University Study — Artificially Alive: How AI Is Bringing the Dead Back: https://en.huji.ac.il/news/artificially-alive-how-ai-bringing-dead-back-and-what-means-living

• NeuroscienceNews — AI Rebirth: Spectral Labor: https://neurosciencenews.com/ai-resurrection-spectral-labor-30162/

• Forbes — Resurrection-As-A-Service? Inside The Coming AI Afterlife Boom: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelashley/2025/11/12/resurrection-as-a-service-inside-the-coming-ai-afterlife-boom/

Tech 4 Grown-Ups is a weekly podcast for adults 55 and over covering digital safety, privacy, online scams, and technology; in plain language, with no jargon.

You never took out your wallet. You never tapped your card. You never handed anyone your phone.

And yet there's a charge on your account you don't recognize.

That's ghost tapping, and as summer festival and outdoor market season arrives, it is one of the fastest-growing contactless scams targeting people in crowded public spaces.

In this episode, we break down exactly how ghost tapping works, why it is so difficult to detect, and the five simple steps that will shut it down completely before it happens to you.

In this episode:

• What NFC technology is and why your tap-to-pay card is vulnerable in crowds
• The proximity skim, how a scammer captures your card data without ever touching you
• The fake vendor terminal and why that three-dollar lemonade could cost you much more
• The charity donation scam, one of the most disarming versions of this attack
• Why ghost tapping charges are deliberately designed to go unnoticed on your statement
• Five practical steps to protect yourself starting today

Your five-step protection plan:

1. Get an RFID blocking wallet or card holder
2. Turn on instant transaction alerts with your bank
3. Always confirm the total before you tap
4. Stay aware of your surroundings in crowds
5. Review your bank statements at least once a week

📚 Resources & Community:

• Tech 4 Grown-Ups Website: https://www.tech4grownups.com/
• Join the Free Community: https://www.tech4grownups.com/community
• Weekly Newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/tech4grownupsnewsletter

🎧 Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_azkW_NfGZE

📖 Full transcript and blog post: https://www.tech4grownups.com/post/transcript-episode-13-ghost-tapping-the-digital-pickpocket-you-never-see-coming-full-episode-t

Tech 4 Grown-Ups is a weekly podcast for adults 55 and over covering digital safety, privacy, online scams, and technology; in plain language, with no jargon.

If you use WhatsApp, and there's a good chance you do, this episode is not optional.

In May 2026, Meta is embedding its AI system directly into WhatsApp's core messaging infrastructure. Not as a feature you choose to add. Not as a separate app you can ignore. As a default, built-in component of the WhatsApp you already have on your phone. That means Meta AI now has access to the environment where you talk to your children, share family photos, and have the private conversations you'd never have on Facebook.

And the data from those conversations? It's being used to train Meta's AI systems. That's not a conspiracy, it's just the business they're in. A 73-year-old retired nurse in our community put it plainly when I explained this to her: "So they're using my conversations with my kids to build their machine." That's exactly what's happening. She deserved to know. So do you.

In this episode, I walk you through exactly what's changing, why this one is different from every other privacy update you've ignored, and most importantly, the specific steps to opt out right now before the May rollout takes full effect.

Steps for iPhone:

1. Open WhatsApp
2. Tap Settings (bottom right corner)
3. Tap Privacy
4. Tap Meta AI
5. Turn off "Allow Meta AI to use my data for AI improvements"
6. Tap AI Features — review all toggles and turn off any that are enabled by default

Steps for Android:

1. Open WhatsApp
2. Tap the three dots in the top right corner
3. Tap Settings
4. Tap Privacy
5. Tap Meta AI
6. Turn off "Allow Meta AI to use my data for AI improvements"
7. Tap AI Features — review all toggles and turn off any that are enabled by default

While you're in Settings, do these three things too:

1. Turn off Read Receipts — Settings → Privacy → Read Receipts → Off. This stops Meta from tracking exactly when you read every message. That's behavioral data. It feeds the same systems.
2. Review your profile visibility — Settings → Privacy. Set your profile photo, status, and last seen to My Contacts at minimum — not Everyone.
3. Check your Linked Devices — Settings → Linked Devices. If you see any device you don't recognize, remove it immediately. This is also how you'd catch a compromised account.

The full transcript and step-by-step guide are at:

https://www.tech4grownups.com/post/whatsapp-may-2026-what-to-turn-off-before-it-changes

Share this episode with someone who uses WhatsApp, this affects every account on the platform, regardless of age. The people most likely to be caught off guard are the ones who trust the platform the most.

Subscribe wherever you're listening from.