Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has secured a patent for an AI system that could keep user profiles active after death, intensifying debate over digital legacy and platform engagement.
AI-Powered Digital Afterlife Patent
The patent, granted in December 2025 and filed in 2023, outlines a large language model designed to simulate a user's online activity using past posts, likes, comments, and potentially audio or video data, as reported by Fortune on Monday.
The system could generate responses and mimic interactions on behalf of dormant or deceased users.
Meta says it has no current plans to deploy the technology but will continue exploring AI applications.
Critics argue the concept reframes death as a platform problem.
Cyberpsychologist Elaine Kasket said the approach suggests "user death is like an engagement problem," warning it could complicate grief.
Sociologist Sherry Turkle described the idea as creating a "perpetual fantasy life" that may interrupt mourning.
Meta's Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Bosworth, has previously said that inactivity, especially after death, affects user experience, which partly informs the patent rationale.
Similar efforts predate the AI boom; in 2017, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) patented a chatbot system built from personal data, though it was not developed.
Global Patent Shift Amid AI Growth
Earlier, Mark Cuban argued that companies would increasingly rely on trade secrets instead of patents as artificial intelligence reduces the protective value of public filings.
He cited Elon Musk, noting that Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) open-sourced its patents and SpaceX largely avoided patent dependence.
Cuban said AI models can train on published patents, allowing competitors to quickly develop workarounds once ideas are disclosed.
Separately, data showed that China had surpassed the U.S. as the world's top source of patent applications, accounting for about 27% of global filings, nearly double its share over the past decade, driven by rapid expansion in research and AI-related innovation.
During the same period, the U.S. share had declined to about 20%, its lowest level since the 1980s, even as American companies continued innovating in absolute terms but lost global filing share as other regions expanded faster.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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