📌 TOPINDIATOURS Update ai: Meta Patented AI That Takes Over Your Account When You

What happens to social media accounts belonging to those who shuffle off this mortal coil has been a subject of debate ever since the tech went mainstream. Should dormant accounts be left alone, or should their surviving loved ones be given backdoor access to maintain them as digital memorials?

To Meta, there could be a morbid alternative: training an AI model on a deceased user’s posts, keeping post-mortem accounts active by uploading new content in their voice long after they passed away.

As Business Insider reports, Meta was granted a patent in 2023 for the idea, outlining how a large language model (LLM) can “simulate” a user’s social media activity.

“The language model may be used for simulating the user when the user is absent from the social networking system, for example, when the user takes a long break or if the user is deceased,” reads the goosebump-raising patent, which lists the company’s CTO Andrew Bosworth as the primary author.

However, the conversation appears to have dramatically shifted over the last three years, especially now that AI slop has infiltrated and practically assumed control over platforms like Facebook and Instagram: Meta now says it’s given up on the sepulchral concept.

“We have no plans to move forward with this example,” a spokesperson told BI.

We’ve already come across countless examples of using AI to emulate dead people, from a grandmother who was resurrected as an AI model for her funeral to “grief tech” startups aiming to let grieving loved ones train AI models on images, recordings, and footage of the deceased.

“The impact on the users is much more severe and permanent if that user is deceased and can never return to the social networking platform,” read the Meta patent.

A digital clone of the deceased person would have been able to interact with people through likes and comments — and even DMs — according to the patent.

While the company has since distanced itself from the grisly idea, the mere existence of the patent highlights how companies were — and in many ways, still are — throwing everything at the wall to discover new use cases for LLMs, and how far they’re willing to go.

Last year, for instance, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg even suggested that lonely users could make friends with the company’s bots instead of with living humans. In a 2023 interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, he seemed to echo the ideas in the patent by saying virtual avatars could take over the accounts of deceased people.

“If someone has lost a loved one and is grieving, there may be ways in which being able to interact or relive certain memories could be helpful,” he told Fridman at the time.

“But then there’s also probably an extent to which it could become unhealthy,” he admitted. “And I mean, I’m not an expert in that, so I think we’d have to study that and understand it in more detail.”

“We have, you know, a fair amount of experience with how to handle death and identity and people’s digital content through social media already, unfortunately,” Zuckerberg said.

It’s not a stretch to assume Meta may have had an ulterior motive to create digital avatars masquerading as the deceased. Facebook has quickly turned into a graveyard of long-forgotten accounts, never-ending ads, unanswered birthday wishes, and updates from that band you hadn’t thought about since high school. At the same time, its feeds are filling with toxic AI slop.

As engagement drops, the company’s core business — selling ads — could take a hit.

“It’s more engagement, more content, more data — more data for the current and the future AI,” University of Birmingham law professor Edina Harbinja told BI. “I can see the business incentive for that. I’m just curious to see how they would, when, and if they will implement this innovation.”

Other experts were taken aback by the idea of training an LLM on a deceased person’s posts.

“One of the tasks of grief is to face the actual loss,” University of Virginia sociology professor Joseph Davis told BI. “Let the dead be dead.”

More on Meta: Meta Adding Facial Recognition to Its Smart Glasses That Identifies People in Real Time, Hoping the Public Is Too Distracted by Political Turmoil to Care

The post Meta Patented AI That Takes Over Your Account When You Die, Keeps Posting Forever appeared first on Futurism.

🔗 Sumber: futurism.com

📌 TOPINDIATOURS Hot ai: US Apache attack helicopter shoots new 30mm rounds to blow

The US Army has live-tested an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter firing the 30×113mm XM1225 Aviation Proximity Explosive (APEX) round to counter drones.

During the trial, the helicopter engaged air-to-air targets at varying ranges. The test highlighted the munition’s accuracy, versatility, and effectiveness against aerial threats, advancing rotary-wing counter-drone capability.

The Apache, primarily designed for anti-armor missions using weapons such as the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile and Hellfire variants, also employs its M230 Chain Gun for engagements against light armor and personnel.

Recently, US Army soldiers evaluated a heavy-lift cargo drone at Fort Stewart, Georgia, as the service considers expanding autonomous resupply capabilities to frontline units.

Apache ammo upgrade

The AH-64 Apache attack helicopter completed a successful live-fire test at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.

In December 2025, the Apache carried out its first air-to-air engagement using 30mm proximity-fused ammunition against unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) at different distances. The test showed the round’s accuracy, flexibility, and effectiveness against aerial targets.

The XM1225 APEX round was developed by Product Manager Medium Caliber Ammunition at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. It is designed to defeat modern threats such as drones, exposed personnel, and small boats.

Importantly, it can be used without any changes to the Apache’s M230 Area Weapon System or its fire control system, allowing easy integration into existing aircraft.

According to the US Army, the ammunition has undergone extensive safety testing to ensure reliable performance. During the trial, the main goal was to measure the XM1225’s accuracy and compare it with the older M789 High Explosive Dual Purpose round under the same conditions.

A secondary goal was to gather data on firing mixed loads of XM1225 and M789 rounds against both ground and drone targets.

Counter-drone firepower

Initial test results showed the XM1225 met all accuracy requirements and proved highly effective against both ground targets and unmanned aircraft systems.

The US Army claims its proximity fuze allows the round to detonate near a target rather than on direct impact, creating a wider lethal radius. This increases its ability to defeat airborne threats and dispersed ground targets, improving overall battlefield effectiveness. The capability enhances the Apache’s performance in both air-to-ground and air-to-air engagements, strengthening its role in modern combat operations.

Test officials noted that the proximity fuze can significantly increase the vulnerability of lightly protected ground and aerial targets, provided they can be properly detected, identified, and tracked. The round’s effectiveness depends on accurate targeting, but it offers expanded engagement options once those conditions are met.

The XM1225 APEX round also maintains similar ballistic characteristics to the currently fielded M789 High Explosive Dual Purpose round. This similarity allows it to be integrated into existing platforms without major adjustments. As a result, the new ammunition adds greater lethality to the Apache without requiring significant additional training for pilots or maintenance personnel.

“Designed to counter emerging threats with unmatched precision and lethality, the XM1225 adds a new capability to the arsenal of 30mm proximity ammunition, giving the Apache Attack Helicopter another lethal option to hunt and defeat modernized threats,” said the US Army in a statement.

🔗 Sumber: interestingengineering.com