THE FILM-PHIL LISBON SEMINARS: DAVIDE SISTO

Davide Sisto (University of Turin)

September’s Film-Phil Lisbon Seminar will be led by Davide Sisto (University of Turin) who will talk about “Thanabots. Digital immortality between sci-fi movies and reality”.

The session will be held on September 24, 2025, at 15:00 WEST in room B201 of NOVA FCSH (Av. de Berna, 26 C) and online via Microsoft Teams. To receive information about joining the meeting online, it’s mandatory to register in advance here.

Abstract

My talk intends to focus on the topic of so-called digital immortality. In particular, it intends to analyze the birth and development of a particular neologism: namely, “thanabot”, by which we refer to the possibility of using artificial intelligence to continue actively talking to the dead. I will show how the theme of digital immortality and thanabots is inspired by a number of TV series and movies (Black Mirror, Upload, Another End, Wonderland). These have anticipated in science fiction and dystopia what is becoming real through ChatGPT and other forms of artificial intelligence.

Bio

Davide Sisto teaches Digital Forms of Life at the University of Turin. He also teaches at the Master’s program “Death Studies & the End of Life” at the University of Padua and collaborates with the University of Trieste. Specializing in the field of digital thanatology since 2014, he holds training courses on Digital Death for medical doctors and nurses, psychologists and educators all over Italy, and then offers consultancy for start-ups engaged in the areas of digital legacy. He has published numerous books translated into a variety of languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Turkish, Finnish, etc.): among them, La morte si fa social. Immortalità, memoria e lutto nell’epoca della cultura digitale (Bollati Boringhieri 2018; MIT Press 2020; Katz Editores 2022; Zigurate 2023; Passagen Verlag 2024), Ricordati di me. La rivoluzione digitale tra memoria e oblio (Bollati Boringhieri 2020; Polity Press 2021; Niin & näin 2021; Ketebe 2024), Porcospini digitali. Vivere e mai morire online (Bollati Boringhieri 2022; Fondo de Cultura Economica 2023; Katz Editores 2023), I confini dell’umano. La tecnica, la natura, la specie (Il Mulino 2023), Virtual influencer. Il tempo delle vite digitali (Einaudi 2024). In September he will publish a book entitled Vivere per sempre. L’aldilà al tempo di Chat GPT (Bollati Boringhieri).

Funding

Funded by the European Union (ERC, FILM AND DEATH, 101088956). Views and feelings expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.