Mortal Machines: On Life, Death, and Forgetting in Artificial Minds

Soumya Banerjee, Patrick Mario Simon Wagner

Keywords: mortality in machines

Abstract: Philosophies of life and death have long shaped how humans understand identity, value, and creativity. As artificial systems gain autonomy, similar themes arise: Can machines live? Can they die? What does mortality mean when applied to computational processes that can be copied, paused, reset, or deliberately erased? This short manuscript sketches a conceptual framework for thinking about mortality in machines. Drawing on ideas from cognitive modelling, simulation theory, and metaphors of cyclical forgetting, we argue that engineered forms of death and forgetting are not merely technical concerns but ontological and ethical design choices that shape the behavior, creativity, and moral status of artificial agents. We close by outlining research directions and design principles for systems that must live well, and sometimes die well.

Submission Number: 4