Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, obtained a patent in December that describes the use of language models to simulate user activity on social networks – including after death, according to documents analyzed by the website Business Insider.
The technology would allow a kind of “digital clone” to continue interacting with friends and followers, responding to messages, liking posts and even participating in audio and video calls based on the user’s historical data.
According to Business Insider, the company’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth, appears as the main author of the patent, originally filed in 2023.
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According to the technical description, the system would be trained with “user-specific” data, such as comments, likes, posts and other interactions over time, to reproduce that person’s style and behavioral patterns.
Meta argues, in the patent, that the absence of a user – whether for a period of digital detox or death – affects the experience of others, who “miss” their online presence. The company states that the tool could be useful especially for influencers and content creators who depend on the platforms for their income, allowing them to maintain “active” profiles even when they are away for long periods of time.
When contacted by Business Insider, Meta said it “has no plans to move forward with this example” and highlighted that the granting of a patent does not necessarily mean that the technology will be implemented.
