The Future of Digital Immortality—Or a Privacy Nightmare?
Meta has patented technology that would allow its AI systems to continue posting, chatting, and interacting on behalf of users after they die. The patent, which surfaced this week, describes a system that analyzes a user's posts, messages, likes, and other data to create a personality clone that can operate autonomously.
How It Works
The AI would be trained on a deceased user's digital footprint—photos, status updates, comments, and private messages—to mimic their writing style, opinions, and even sense of humor. Friends and family might even be able to "chat" with the digital doppelgänger, which would respond as the person once did.
Meta argues this could help preserve memories and provide comfort to grieving loved ones. But critics warn it raises profound ethical questions about consent, data use, and the commodification of identity.
Privacy and Surveillance Concerns
The patent also opens the door for governments or bad actors to demand access to these "digital ghosts." With AI already being used for surveillance and social control, the idea of a posthumous AI acting on your behalf could become a tool for manipulation—especially in authoritarian regimes.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has already expressed concern, stating that such technology "blurs the line between remembrance and exploitation."
What About Your Data?
Unless you explicitly opt out, your data on Meta's platforms could be repurposed after your death. The patent suggests that AI-driven accounts might continue to engage with content, influencing algorithms and ad targeting—potentially generating revenue for Meta from users who can't object.
Bottom line: While digital legacy tools aren't new, Meta's approach combines scale, AI, and behavioral profiling in a way that could redefine—some would say violate—post-mortem privacy.
Source: Reddit r/technology, via Dexerto.