Meta has been granted a US patent for an AI system that could learn from a person’s posts, messages, voice notes, likes, and other activity, then act as a stand in that can reply in feeds and DMs, and even simulate audio or video calls. The patent explicitly says it could be used when someone is away for a long time, or when they are deceased, raising obvious concerns about consent, grief, and fake interactions that look like real engagement. Meta says it has no plans to build it, but the idea fits a broader trend of companies exploring AI “users” to keep platforms active. The article notes similar concepts from Microsoft and Amazon that sparked backlash or never shipped, and warns that laws on postmortem identity rights are inconsistent, with additional regulatory pressure likely in Europe.

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