Meta patents AI that keeps users posting after they die
Meta has patented a form of AI that will continue posting for you after you die in a bid for digital immortality.
The technology would analyse all past data available in order to create a convincing digital person that acts as if you were still using online platforms. It would also have the potential to stimulate audio or video calls, without requiring any input from the person it was modelled upon.
The patent states specifically, as per Business Insider, “The 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.”
This digital pseudo-clone would also have the ability to like, comment, and react to other content online. It has been posited as a useful tool for creators who make their livelihoods online, but who might need a break.
The patent was first filed in 2023. Andrew Bosworth, the chief technology officer at Meta, is the primary author of the patent.
However, a Meta spokesperson has clarified that, though the patent is granted, it doesn’t guarantee that the technology will ever be developed or pursued.
They stated, as per Cyber News, that “We have no plans to move forward with this example.”
In a similar move in 2021, Microsoft patented a chatbot that would allow users to talk to specific individuals, a list that included dead people.
However, experts in grief tech have warned that instances such as these are an emotional and ethical minefield and should be approached with utmost caution.
On the idea of digital immortality to stave off the traumatic onslaught of grief, Joseph Davis, a sociology professor at the University of Virginia, had a very pertinent response: “One of the tasks of grief is to face the actual loss. Let the dead be dead.”