Humanity has long proposed the question: What happens after you die? It used to be a question about the afterlife, but now it’s more about your digital footprint. Who takes over your social media presence on Instagram? Okay, some people may not care all that much, and that’s a valid stance, but a new Meta patent suggests what’s going to happen to your accounts, and it blurs the lines between reality and fiction. That’s especially so if you’ve ever seen or remember the “Black Mirror” episode, “Be Right Back” from Season 2.
Meta has patented a feature that would use AI to continue keeping your account active and posting indefinitely. The idea is to train an AI model on your past experiences and posts, which would continue uploading as a pseudo version of yourself. Business Insider reports the patent was primarily written by Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth, and originally filed and awarded in 2023. It describes how the technology or feature may be implemented.
According to the patent, “The language model may be used for simulating the user when the user is absent from the social networking system.” The word “absent” is an interesting way to describe how your presence would be missing, but it also goes on to give an example, “[like] when the user takes a long break or if the user is deceased.” A Meta spokesperson did indicate the company currently has no plans to move forward with the deceased example. However, that’s certainly no assurance that it won’t become a feature in the future.
Could AI really become you or simulate you after you die?
It’s such a harsh reality to lose a loved one eventually, and everyone at one point wonders about prolonging life in some capacity. Finally, modern technology may address the concept, whether you like it or not. In digital technology, there’s something called a “digital twin,” essentially a digital clone of a system — in this case, a person — that can be used to simulate or continue interacting with it.
Your digital twin could be used to power virtual bots, like chatbots, that continue acting as you would long after your death. They don’t truly embody your consciousness. Instead, they merely continue acting as you would, digitally. Potentially posting social media content, voice memos, interacting with family and friends — not unlike an AI-powered chatbot. Meta’s patent, and the feature that would allow AI to continue being you, would operate in exactly the same way. It could actively respond to comments from family and friends, post video or audio with simulated interactions – TerifAI can already steal your voice – even respond to DMs.
But the ethics behind such a thing are so complex, that society may not even have the answers to properly address them. What if someone manipulates or takes control of that digital twin? For nefarious deeds, for example. What about people who don’t want this to go on and don’t want a copy of their likeness? If the AI does something untoward or causes more grief and pain, what then?
Several startups already exist for grief solutions
Meta is, of course, not the first and only tech company to consider or even pursue this idea. There are already startups out there that have chatbots for this very thing. Replika is a great example. Another is a company called Eternime, founded by an MIT alumnus. StoryFile is another interesting project that could bring realistic representations of real people back to life in digital form.
In short, the technology exists and is already there to make this happen, albeit in varying ways. It might not be an exact replica of you or a faithful representation of you digitally, but it can happen. If Meta’s patent is any indication, many of these companies are interested in taking over your digital likeness when you pass on, particularly through continual social media use. If you thought your data was in jeopardy while you were alive, you might want to consider what happens after you pass on.
It may be worth it to explore how you can remove personal info from the web, as well as other directories like social media, and potentially take back your data from data brokers. Do it now, while you still have a heartbeat. Meta isn’t the only company investing in this technology. There may come a time when your digital twin is signed away through a T&C agreement you didn’t even read.
