A Nottingham Funeral Director has said artificial intelligence (AI) can play a helpful role in funeral planning, but warned it should not be relied upon as a form of emotional support for those who are grieving.
Julia Carty, General Manager at M.A. Mills Funeral Service, said families are increasingly using tools like ChatGPT to help write messages for flower cards, funeral tributes and poems when arranging services for loved ones.
She said the technology can make difficult moments slightly easier by helping people find the right words when emotions can be overwhelming.
“When arranging a funeral those left behind are carrying an awful lot of responsibilities and emotional weight,” she said. “Not only do you have to arrange the funeral, but you have to take care of things like bank accounts, pensions, life insurance – even phone and internet contracts. Using AI for something simple like writing a message on a card can be a helpful way to ease the overwhelm for some people.
“I’d strongly urge people to keep the uses of AI to strictly practical, however. These tools can’t understand the complexity of loss and how each family is different, so relying on them for emotional support can be dangerous.”
The business is yet to see further signs of AI usage when planning funerals, with AI photographs or videos not yet a part of any service they have provided. However, Julia is aware that its involvement in the process will only likely increase as AI becomes more prevalent in people’s everyday lives.
“I think it’s only a matter of time before people start using it for more things than just writing,” she said. “In years gone by, if you needed inspiration you might have looked to a book, film or piece of music. Now we naturally turn to technology.”
While Julia accepted that future generations will be more comfortable incorporating AI into practical aspects of funeral planning, she emphasised that the profession itself will always rely on compassion and human care.
“Our children and grandchildren will be fluent in using the technology when it comes time to planning funerals – but they’ll learn how to use it responsibly from the generations before them. We must proceed with caution if we’re using it in funeral planning.”
“So much of funerals is about the human connection, human emotions – things AI can’t understand. If we reduce these feelings to inputs and outcomes, we risk people not having the grieving process they need and deserve. Everybody deserves to process the loss of a loved one on their own terms.”
M. A. Mills first opened its doors in 1995 in Radcliffe on Trent, and was acquired by A.W. Lymn in October 2023. Operating with the same values and mission to provide compassionate, professional and family-focused care as A.W. Lymn, it offers a streamlined funeral service to communities in the East Midlands.
