Where should platforms draw the line? Does that change with public figures and recent events? Should families have the final say? As a former product policy professional I certainly have my thoughts. But speaking to AI, media, and ethics experts gave me a lot more context on this behavior.

For one, there is a lot of history to mocking the dead. Much like with other things, generative AI has increased the scale, speed and shock factor of digital desecrations. But it did not invent them. Lynching postcards, tabloid "death porn," Rotten[.]com and RIP trolls are all precedents.