{"id":8874,"date":"2026-02-17T16:26:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/meta-patented-ai-die-keeps-posting\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T16:26:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:26:02","slug":"meta-patented-ai-die-keeps-posting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/meta-patented-ai-die-keeps-posting\/","title":{"rendered":"Meta Patented AI That Takes Over Your Account When You Die, Keeps Posting Forever"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What happens to social media accounts belonging to those who shuffle off this mortal coil has been a subject of debate<\/a> ever since the tech went mainstream. Should dormant accounts be left alone, or should their surviving loved ones be given backdoor access to maintain them as digital memorials?<\/p>\n

To Meta, there could be a morbid alternative: training an AI model on a deceased user\u2019s posts, keeping post-mortem accounts active by uploading new content in their voice long after they passed away.<\/p>\n

As Business Insider <\/em>reports<\/a>, Meta was granted a patent in 2023 for the idea, outlining how a large language model (LLM) can \u201csimulate\u201d a user\u2019s social media activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe language model may be used for simulating the user when the user is absent from the social networking system, for example, when the user takes a long break or if the user is deceased,\u201d reads the goosebump-raising patent, which lists the company\u2019s CTO Andrew Bosworth as the primary author.<\/p>\n

However, the conversation appears to have dramatically shifted over the last three years, especially now that AI slop has infiltrated and practically assumed control<\/a> over platforms like Facebook and Instagram: Meta now says it\u2019s given up on the sepulchral concept.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no plans to move forward with this example,\u201d a spokesperson told BI<\/em>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve already come across countless examples of using AI to emulate dead people, from a grandmother who was resurrected as an AI model for her funeral<\/a> to \u201cgrief tech\u201d startups<\/a> aiming to let grieving loved ones train AI models on images, recordings, and footage of the deceased.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impact on the users is much more severe and permanent if that user is deceased and can never return to the social networking platform,\u201d read the Meta patent.<\/p>\n

A digital clone of the deceased person would have been able to interact with people through likes and comments \u2014 and even DMs \u2014 according to the patent.<\/p>\n

While the company has since distanced itself from the grisly idea, the mere existence of the patent highlights how companies were \u2014 and in many ways, still are \u2014 throwing everything at the wall to discover new use cases for LLMs, and how far they\u2019re willing to go.<\/p>\n

Last year, for instance, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg even suggested<\/a> that lonely users could make friends with the company\u2019s bots instead of with living humans. In a 2023 interview with podcaster Lex Fridman<\/a>, he seemed to echo the ideas in the patent by saying virtual avatars could take over the accounts of deceased people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf someone has lost a loved one and is grieving, there may be ways in which being able to interact or relive certain memories could be helpful,\u201d he told Fridman at the time. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut then there\u2019s also probably an extent to which it could become unhealthy,\u201d he admitted. \u201cAnd I mean, I\u2019m not an expert in that, so I think we\u2019d have to study that and understand it in more detail.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have, you know, a fair amount of experience with how to handle death and identity and people\u2019s digital content through social media already, unfortunately,\u201d Zuckerberg said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a stretch to assume Meta may have had an ulterior motive to create digital avatars masquerading as the deceased. Facebook has quickly turned into a graveyard of long-forgotten accounts, never-ending ads, unanswered birthday wishes, and updates from that band you hadn\u2019t thought about since high school. At the same time, its feeds are filling with toxic AI slop<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As engagement drops, the company\u2019s core business \u2014 selling ads \u2014 could take a hit. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more engagement, more content, more data \u2014 more data for the current and the future AI,\u201d University of Birmingham law professor Edina Harbinja told BI<\/em>. \u201cI can see the business incentive for that. I\u2019m just curious to see how they would, when, and if they will implement this innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other experts were taken aback by the idea of training an LLM on a deceased person\u2019s posts.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the tasks of grief is to face the actual loss,\u201d University of Virginia sociology professor Joseph Davis told BI<\/em>. \u201cLet the dead be dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

More on Meta:<\/strong> Meta Adding Facial Recognition to Its Smart Glasses That Identifies People in Real Time, Hoping the Public Is Too Distracted by Political Turmoil to Care<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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The post Meta Patented AI That Takes Over Your Account When You Die, Keeps Posting Forever<\/a> appeared first on Futurism<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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