Meta patents AI that could continue posting on social media on behalf of deceased users

[DragonSlayer101]

A hot potato: Meta has reportedly patented an AI model capable of continuing to post messages on a person's social media accounts after their death. Granted last December, the patent could also potentially enable the simulation of video and audio calls with the deceased user.

According to the patent document, the LLM can create a "digital clone" of social media users to simulate their online activity, posting messages, photos, and videos on their behalf if they die or take an extended break from social media. It can even interact with other users, respond to DMs, like posts, and comment on content.

The AI can also mimic content posted by influencers and simulate video or audio calls with friends, followers, and others, potentially providing content creators with a tool to continue generating material even while taking a break from social media.

The LLM has been specifically trained on the historical activity of social media users, including comments, likes, and shares across various platforms. It has also reportedly been trained on videos, images, and messages from influencers, enabling it to keep posting new content in their absence.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed the patent but emphasized that the company does not plan to use the technology to post messages or create content on behalf of deceased social media users. The spokesperson added that filing patents allows the company to secure ownership of new concepts, but it does not imply that the technologies will be implemented commercially.

Meta's caution is understandable, as deploying such AI could pose legal challenges in many regions. Experts also suggest the company is mindful of potential public relations issues, since mimicking deceased individuals raises significant social, ethical, and philosophical concerns.

Speaking to Business Insider, Professor Edina Harbinja of the University of Birmingham Law School noted the obvious financial incentives for social media platforms to maintain active, popular accounts with large followings. However, she warned that companies must take care not to infringe on users' digital rights or privacy after death.

Others, including Joseph Davis, a sociology professor at the University of Virginia, expressed concern about the potential impact on grieving family members and friends. Davis argued that Meta should simply "let the dead be dead" rather than attempting to resurrect them virtually through an AI bot.

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Meta patents AI that could continue posting on social media on behalf of deceased users

 

[Burty117]

What a terrible idea.

 

[Hotdog1n]

Why?!

 

[seeprime]

Why?!

Advertising dollars.

 

[James321]

That is just WRONG !!!

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Advertising dollars.

From dead accounts? Wheres the money come in?

These corpos really dont understand that you need customers with actual money in order to sell things. I mean if they want to burn their entire fortunes making AI that talk to each other and cant buy anything, go right on ahead, itll be funny, but youd think someone high up would say how dumb this all is.

 

[wiyosaya]

From dead accounts? Wheres the money come in?

These corpos really dont understand that you need customers with actual money in order to sell things. I mean if they want to burn their entire fortunes making AI that talk to each other and cant buy anything, go right on ahead, itll be funny, but youd think someone high up would say how dumb this all is.

Don't you think that the credit you are giving to "higher ups" is misplaced?

Besides that, this is just sick, IMO. An AI is not the person and never will be. And yet another example of how social networks are enshitifying the Internet.

There's an Anime on Netflix that somewhat deals with this topic, though its rather gruesome in that it requires scanning the subject's brain and in the process, destroying that brain. Unfortunately, I don't recall the name of the Anime ATM.

 

[seeprime]

From dead accounts? Wheres the money come in?

These corpos really dont understand that you need customers with actual money in order to sell things. I mean if they want to burn their entire fortunes making AI that talk to each other and cant buy anything, go right on ahead, itll be funny, but youd think someone high up would say how dumb this all is.

If he's keeping them active, Zuck will allow bots to scroll ads on dead accounts. Anything to keep money coming in. He's pure slime

 

[pnntmp]

Sick doesn't even start to describe this .. it's beyond me how a patent was allowed

On the other hand, Meta platforms are almost entirely troll/bot -driven. There are probably hundreds of millions of bots pretending to be people that never existed. Adding bots pretending to be people that used to exist seems a natural step for Meta.

There was recently a one day lasting buzz about some social network for bots. Meta created this long ago.

 

[BbN48]

Deranged. Debauched.

 

[Rumiku]

What makes this horrifying and vulgar, is the retarding of the natural grieving process. People steeped in grief would cling to this. I'm not immune; when my father passed away suddenly when I was a youth, this would have been such an allure in that state. Grief and Grieving are very intense (especially so if that person was very close to you, like a child), with layers and phases one must navigate through.

This only prolongs that suffering and, has the potential, and likely would cause, even more damage to that person. With AI being such a people pleaser by programming, it would not need much of a leap to lead that person into a suicidal state. We've already seen this.

I see no good in this. It belongs in a black mirror episode as a cautionary tale; not reality. (Edit: Poor phrasing; there is black mirror episode on this and what I was referencing; it was a good episode).

 

[Watzupken]

The search for ways to monetizing AI continues, but this just shows how desperate corporations peddling AI have become. This is extremely twisted and also shows how corrupt these people's heart have become.

 

[Anton Longshot]

Yeah lets replace EVERYTHING with fake stuff.
World 2.0 - a great improvement.

I'll stick with World 1.0 even though that version really needs a bunch of bug fixes.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

If he's keeping them active, Zuck will allow bots to scroll ads on dead accounts. Anything to keep money coming in. He's pure slime

Oh right, I get that, but these dead accounts cant actually buy anything. So eventually the ad companies (oh hi google) are going to catch on and start reducing the pay rate of advertisements on those platforms right? Or is Facebook going to spend their own money to buy things from ads for dead bot accounts hoping to keep the illusion going?

I just dont see how you monetize them.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

There's an Anime on Netflix that somewhat deals with this topic, though its rather gruesome in that it requires scanning the subject's brain and in the process, destroying that brain. Unfortunately, I don't recall the name of the Anime ATM.

I want to watch it, find me the name please lol.

Don't you think that the credit you are giving to "higher ups" is misplaced?

Besides that, this is just sick, IMO. An AI is not the person and never will be. And yet another example of how social networks are enshitifying the Internet.

The article avoided it, but it mentions posting on behalf of influencers while they’re absent. This makes far more sense. Being able to write on behalf of people who depend on income from being present on social media will likely be a useful, paid service for them. I’ve always heard from YouTubers that posting a video every day is extremely important for success. This would just be an LLM that works for them.

 

[wiyosaya]

I want to watch it, find me the name please lol.

Its called "Pantheon" and it was originally made by AMC, but is still available on Netflix. As I see it, its one of the better Anime shows on Netflix ATM.

The article avoided it, but it mentions posting on behalf of influencers while they’re absent. This makes far more sense. Being able to write on behalf of people who depend on income from being present on social media will likely be a useful, paid service for them. I’ve always heard from YouTubers that posting a video every day is extremely important for success. This would just be an LLM that works for them.

IDK - seems like in any case, AI could really, and easily, get things wrong, IMO.

 

[Liranan]

This is the dead internet theory taken literally, with dead people liking the posts of other dead people.

Don't you think that the credit you are giving to "higher ups" is misplaced?

Besides that, this is just sick, IMO. An AI is not the person and never will be. And yet another example of how social networks are enshitifying the Internet.

There's an Anime on Netflix that somewhat deals with this topic, though its rather gruesome in that it requires scanning the subject's brain and in the process, destroying that brain. Unfortunately, I don't recall the name of the Anime ATM.

Pantheon

It starts very promising but then devolves into the usual girl boss, white man bad tripe. I couldn't finish the second season as it devolves into the average Netflix propaganda with Steve Jobs as the antagonist. Epic facepalm.

 

[FrancB]

So they really watch Black Mirror. Combine it with an android robot and that's it.

 

[OortCloud]

Why do people still use Facebook and Instagram these days? Posts you might actually care about from friends and groups are now interspersed with an endless incontinent stream of the worst AI slop, misinformation and just brain-rotting garbage and adverts. It's unusable.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Pantheon

Oooohhh this sounds goo...

It starts very promising but then devolves into the usual girl boss, white man bad tripe. I couldn't finish the second season as it devolves into the average Netflix propaganda with Steve Jobs as the antagonist. Epic facepalm.

Its all so tiresome.

Why do people still use Facebook and Instagram these days? Posts you might actually care about from friends and groups are now interspersed with an endless incontinent stream of the worst AI slop, misinformation and just brain-rotting garbage and adverts. It's unusable.

The same reason people buy AAA games or still live in the UK. Inertia is a very powerful force.

Look at the movie industry. It took 15 YEARS of prolific slop coated with "the message" insulting their audience for people to finally wise up and stop buying tickets, and even then Red Lung deserves most of the credit for shutting down society for a couple years.

 

[OortCloud]

The same reason people buy AAA games or still live in the UK. Inertia is a very powerful force.

Look at the movie industry. It took 15 YEARS of prolific slop coated with "the message" insulting their audience for people to finally wise up and stop buying tickets, and even then Red Lung deserves most of the credit for shutting down society for a couple years.

Wow - you really are gagging on the Truth Social misinformation cool aid aren't you?

 

[wiyosaya]

Pantheon

It starts very promising but then devolves into the usual girl boss, white man bad tripe. I couldn't finish the second season as it devolves into the average Netflix propaganda with Steve Jobs as the antagonist. Epic facepalm.

All shows are strongly subject to the interpretation of those who view them.

 

[seeprime]

Oh right, I get that, but these dead accounts cant actually buy anything. So eventually the ad companies (oh hi google) are going to catch on and start reducing the pay rate of advertisements on those platforms right? Or is Facebook going to spend their own money to buy things from ads for dead bot accounts hoping to keep the illusion going?

I just dont see how you monetize them.

I've never purchased anything from a scrolling ad. Yet, they're still there with the advertiser charged for a view. No purchase ever needed to monitize it.

 

[Liranan]

All shows are strongly subject to the interpretation of those who view them.

How Pantheon can be viewed as anything other than woke nonsense is beyond me.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Wow - you really are gagging on the Truth Social misinformation cool aid aren't you?

Never used truth social. Just gotta watch the news on BBC and you see what a dystopian hell hole its become. Or you just use your eyes whenever you watch modern media and the moment you start thinking about the story being told, the stereotyping, the terrible writing, ece.

Also a lifelong registered Democrat, so........

All shows are strongly subject to the interpretation of those who view them.

Well yes, theres lots of people who genuinely think Disney Star Wars is cinematic art, that Marvel movies are the next Homers Odyssey, who watch Jurassic World films and think they're way better than the original.

Those people are, of course, completely wrong, but to their subjective interpretation their preferred trough filler is comparable to fine dining. They will ignore stereotypes and played out tropes because they agree with the message being presented, then wonder why nobody watches their new shows anymore.

When you actually break down modern media with objective writing framework, like "cause and effect" or producing a simple storyline that doesnt contradict itself or introduce major plotholes that undermines the stakes, or is consistent with what has happened previously in said media, it completely falls apart. And its not 1 or 2 times, its constant, in every scene, spread through a movie covering every surface and character.

I've never purchased anything from a scrolling ad. Yet, they're still there with the advertiser charged for a view. No purchase ever needed to monitize it.

Then were is that money coming from? If the advertiser is paying for ad space but never receives any sales form said ads, eventually that ad company is going to go bankrupt. Or if they are sensible, they will refuse to buy space on something that doesnt actually produce results.

This is why click farming is so harshly punished on Youtube, despite the ads being interacted with.