AI replicas of workers spark debate on cyber immortality

Achieving immortality in cyberspace is a common trope in science fiction. At the end of the series Devs on streaming platform Hulu, multiple characters are reborn inside a digital recreation of the universe, and are left wondering if they're real or just code. Their dilemma is playing out right now in online spaces, as AI replicas of workers have begun popping up.

Last month, prominent influencer Zhang Xuefeng, known for giving university admissions advice, died at just 41 years old. As his followers mourn the loss, Zhang has "come back to life" in the form of an AI.

Zhang Xuefeng.skill inherited the influencer's accessible speaking style and values after being trained on his years of livestreams, media interviews, and books. Its presence online has sparked a hurricane of passionate discussion.

Wang Ziyue, a Stanford University doctor focusing on AI, uploaded a video criticizing the bot, saying, "It's like extracting humanity from the human body and creating something that resembles a human but is not truly human, evoking an uncomfortable sense of horror."

In late March, colleague.skill was published on GitHub, promising to convert work data from former colleagues to generate digital versions capable of replacing them in their jobs.

In the description, the developer used black humor to satirize how large models have already made people lose their jobs with an ironic quote: "You AI guys are traitors to the codebase—you've already killed frontend, now you're coming for backend, QA, ops, infosec, chip design, and eventually yourselves and all of humanity".

But fear not, they have a solution to a common workplace problem: "Turn cold farewells into warm skills. Welcome to cyber immortality!"

After colleague.skill went viral, it sparked discussions on occupational anxiety, technological ethics, privacy, and personality rights.

Meanwhile, companies are already beginning to use it.

Jia, who works at a major internet company in Beijing and asked to remain anonymous, said large tech companies have high staff turnover. Valuable employees take their experience and leave a productivity gap while new hires get up to speed. "However, if your chat logs, emails, and work documents could be used to train an AI version of you without your knowledge after you leave, this is not just a data breach — it is a disrespect for individual labor," she said.

Online responses have been varied. On social media platform Xiaohongshu, a netizen posted greetings from their digital former colleague: "I'm the digital avatar of the former employee [name blurred out]. You may ask me questions, and I will answer based on documents from my time working here."

One commenter said: "This is spine-chilling. In the past, when someone left a job, their desk was cleared and their work account deactivated. Now, even after your physical self has moved on to a new company, your 'digital ghost' remains trapped in your former workplace, working for the boss for free."

In a separate post, someone made an unverified claim that their company had asked them to train an AI with their skills, only to fire them later.

As the ethical discussion continues online, some experts are focusing on legality, cautioning that software like colleague.skill carries substantial risk.

Meng Zedong, a lawyer at Yingke Law Firm in Beijing, said that collecting an individual's work records, emails, documents, and other data without their consent is an abuse of personal information.

"Intellectual property, such as design drawings, technical plans, and works created by employees during employment to fulfill their duties, belongs to the company," he said. "However, logical thinking, communication habits, and work experience are part of the employee's personal privacy. The company has no right to use an employee's data to train AI without their knowledge."

If the AI makes it possible to identify a specific natural person, that's an infringement of personality rights, he added. "Chinese law explicitly stipulates that the personal dignity of citizens is inviolable. Such acts are suspected of violating personal dignity and contravening public order and good morals."

Wang Yegang, professor at the Law School of the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, agreed that collecting personal data using AI to create digital colleagues may violate multiple civil rights.

If the digital replica uses a real person's name, voice, and identity to communicate with others, Wang argues, it will violate their personality rights. If it makes inappropriate remarks that damage the social reputation of the individual, this further constitutes an infringement of that person's right to reputation.

He added that companies have no right to require employees to use their own skills to train AI, as this generally does not qualify as a necessary measure for compliance with labor rules or human resource management.

"Individuals, when finding themselves being replicated, have the right to request the deletion of data, the destruction of models, and an apology. They may also claim compensation for property damage and mental distress," he added.

Not everyone is concerned about the negative potential of AI being used in this way. According to Li Qiang, vice-president of recruitment portal Zhaopin, a small number of companies have introduced colleague.skill to transform invisible experiences in employees' brains into visible assets and reduce the risk of business disruptions when employees leave.

Li doesn't believe colleague.skill will lead to more layoffs in the short term, because the AI created from employees' data can only handle highly structured and standardized tasks; it cannot replace humans in complex decision-making and interpersonal coordination.

He warned that if companies blindly rely on skills extracted by AI, it may weaken their team's innovative vitality. "AI is good at copying past experiences, but for confronting new problems, human judgment and breakthroughs are still needed," he said.

Li said there is no need to panic. "Every technological revolution redefines 'human value', and this time, AI is actually helping us see clearly which abilities are truly unique to human beings."