Saturday Feeling: How AI has rewritten the rules of mourning

Learning to live without someone you love is probably one of the hardest things to do. You’re usually told about the “stages of grief” but it’s not always true that grief follows that path, or goes away. For me, coming across the ‘Tonkins Model of Grief’ has been the best way to deal with loss. We tend to think that grief shrinks with time, but Lois Tonkin, a grief counsellor, said that our grief does not ever go away. It’s just that we grow around our grief as we accumulate new experiences and do new things over time. To me, that seems like a warmer way to reconcile to the absence of someone. But, as with all human emotions and actions today, AI is being brought in as a navigator. A number of AI and deepfake tech companies are “resurrecting the dead”—recreating AI versions of people who have passed—so that they can appear at weddings, birthdays or other special occasions for the living. It seems spooky, but there is no one way to grieve, and Viren Naidu goes behind the scenes to understand how grief works in the time of AI.

Quieter ways to grieve involve checking into a grief retreat, a relatively new kind of wellness vacation. The retreats offer the usual wellness fare—a peaceful environment, massages, yoga, meditation, Ayurveda-led therapies—but the programmes are customised to take into account the person’s state of mind. Pooja Singh meets the people who have spent time at grief retreats and learnt to manage their sense of their loss. Then there’s mourning online; when a celebrity dies, social media is flooded with tributes, selfies and stories about meeting or knowing the person. The internet changed our grieving process, even before AI arrived to create an illusion of life. Shephali Bhatt wonders whether we’re really mourning them or the part of ourselves that we invested in them.

And here’s a snapshot of some of the other stories we’ve written recently, here at Lounge.

How ‘Delhi Crime’ set the bar for Indian cop shows

Since its debut in 2019, Delhi Crime has stood apart in India’s streaming landscape for its layered storytelling and unhurried tone. It has been both popular and influential, spawning a host of imitators across streaming platforms. Each season has reflected a different aspect of Delhi, transforming true crime into something intimate and unsettling. Udita Jhunjhunwala speaks to director Tanuj Chopra, producer Apoorva Bakshi and actor Huma Qureshi about Season 3 of the show. Read more. https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/art-and-culture/delhi-crime-cop-drama-police-series-shefali-shah-huma-qureshi-netflix-11762418995021.html

M5 chip: Who needs this upgrade now?

Apple’s newest MacBook may look unchanged, but under the hood, the M5 chip brings real gains for those building or running AI models. For everyone else, the improvements might feel more theoretical than transformative, writes Shouvik Das. Do we really need MacBooks to be upgraded every year? On paper, the M5 chip is clearly the better one. The difference would only be evident for those working on cutting-edge large AI models, or highly complex applications. Until then, the MacBook Pro’s M3 avatar will do for those working on smaller projects. Read the review. https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/business-of-life/apple-macbook-pro-m5-chip-review-11762269875727.html

Your survival guide to long-haul flights

Visiting a new country or city can be exciting but the journey to get there—including standing in long security lines—can leave the best of us exhausted. While travel days can get chaotic, what you need to control those pre-flight jitters are simple, consistent rituals, writes Anushka Patodia. One such ritual is getting a good dose of early morning sunshine on the day of departure to keep your body clock steady. What you eat and drink matter too. Air cabins can be super-dehydrating, so remember to sip water continuously. Read more. https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/wellness/no-stress-wellness-coded-survival-guide-to-travelling-healthy-in-flight-exercise-11762071529470.html

5 overhead exercises that pack a punch

Overhead exercises, which involve lifting the weight above the head, are generally considered a part of the shoulder routine as they primarily engage the deltoids but that’s just part of the story. These strength-training exercises are also known to work on the upper back, upper chest and triceps, making them all-rounders. Pulasta Dhar rounds up five creative overhead movements that pack quite a punch. Read more. https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/wellness/five-overhead-exercises-deltoids-upper-body-strength-11762168829195.html