Personore

Personore is a neologism used in discussions of digital personhood to denote a class of digital artifacts and processes that preserve, reproduce, or simulate aspects of a person's mental life within computational systems. It can refer to structured archives, dynamic models, or interactive avatars intended to reflect an individual's personality, preferences, memories, and values. The concept is often discussed in the context of digital legacy, AI ethics, and human–computer interaction, and is not tied to a single technology or platform.

Components commonly associated with a personore include data collection of communications and behaviors, cognitive models that approximate decision-making or temperament, memory representations that structure personal narratives, and an interface through which users can interact with the modeled entity. Data governance, consent, and ongoing maintenance are central considerations, as is the need to distinguish between archival fidelity and interactive capability.

Applications for personore span speculative and applied domains. They might power digital heirs or archival agents for therapy or education, or serve as personalized assistants designed to preserve social relationships after a real person’s death. In fiction, personores are often used to explore continuity of identity or the persistence of memory in a technologically mediated form.

Ethical and social implications are central to the concept. Key concerns include consent and autonomy, ownership of digital traces, the right to modify or discontinue representations, and the risk of manipulation or deception. The accuracy of a personore depends on data quality and modeling choices, raising questions about authenticity and personhood.

The term is related to discussions of digital twins, virtual avatars, and broader debates about digital immortality and memory. Proponents emphasize potential benefits for continuity and learning, while critics caution against overreliance on simulated personas and stress the need for governance that protects individuals’ rights and dignity.