Year 11 - Religious education
Digital memory
Memory: what happens to us and our memories when we die?
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Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit invites pupils to consider religious and non-religious responses to death. They will examine differing views. They will consider how the dead may be remembered through ritual or legacy. They will consider how attitudes are changing and the possibilities technology may offer in the future.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to evaluate whether it's possible or desirable to leave a digital memory behind when we die.
Key Notes
- Before digital media, people would announce the death of a loved one through word of mouth or printed media.
- With advances in science and technology, more of our experiences are being documented and recorded.
- With AI, robotics and emerging technologies, it may be possible to try and capture the essence of a person.
- Whether or not this would actually create a virtual replica of you depends on what you believe makes us human.
- People who believe in a soul would be less likely to think we can be virtually recreated after death.
Vocabulary To Learn
- AI chatbot: a computer program that uses artificial intelligence to understand and respond in ways that sound like a human
- digital memory: refers to online traces left behind after a person dies e.g. social media profile
- social media: websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Digital memory refers to how computers store information.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Before digital media, people would announce the death of a loved one through word of mouth or printed media. With advances in science and technology, more of our experiences are being documented and recorded.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'AI chatbot'
a computer program that uses artificial intelligence to understand and respond in ways that sound like a human.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: Digital memory refers to how computers store information. Correction: Digital memory can also refer to digital tools to record and recall a person's life, including traces left behind after a person dies.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 11 Religious education guide library.