Hello,
Creating false representations is prohibited according to halacha. This is part of the prohibition of geneivat da’at, which the Rambam emphasized applies to all people. The status of truth in the Torah is powerfully expressed in the words of Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel at the end of the first chapter of Pirkei Avot:
“Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel says: The world stands on three things—on justice, on truth, and on peace…”
It is understood that since the world stands on more than one pillar, there will be cases of conflict between these foundational values, and none of the aspects can be expressed fully. Therefore, we find many discussions about clashes between truth and peace. It is worthwhile to read more on this topic on the “Tzohar Ethics” website, in the pamphlet “Distance Yourself from Falsehood.”
Accordingly, the starting point is that it is forbidden to create fictional or false content—especially when the end-users are unaware that the content was not truly said by the person, or if they lack the tools to discern that this is a methodological device. Even for educational purposes, and certainly for commercial ones—this is not permitted.
However, if it is clear to everyone that this is a technological simulation and does not reflect the actual views of the deceased, but rather the views of the content creator or publisher—or the creation of artificial intelligence based on the massive data sets and sophisticated algorithms at its disposal—then there is no prohibition. Transparency must be total, not only in a formal sense, but also in terms of the responsibility to clearly differentiate between deception and rhetorical or methodological tools.
All the best,
Rabbi Yuval Cherlow
Rabbi Cherlow is the Head of the Ethics Department at the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization
