Meta was granted a patent in December 2025 for an AI model that uses a deceased user's posts, likes, and comments to continue interacting with others on their behalf — framed partly as solving an "engagement problem" caused by account inactivity.

Cyberpsychologist Elaine Kasket, who has studied digital afterlives for over two decades, described the patent's rationale as reframing user death as an engagement problem as a troubling commercial lens on bereavement. She called the approach psychologically unhelpful, pushing back on tech founders who claim they want to "solve grief" within a decade, which she dismissed as a ridiculous notion. She also noted that grief is highly personal, and different grievers could react very differently to the same AI-generated profile built from a person's digital remains.

https://fortune.com/2026/03/03/meta-patent-ai-model-death-profile-commenting-psychology-grief/

Cyberpsychologist Elaine Kasket commented on the rise of AI “boyfriends” and emotionally intimate relationships with chatbots in a recent article for The Sun.

Dr Elaine Kasket shared her expert perspective on why people are forming strong emotional bonds with generative AI companions, noting that chatbots can feel like safe, non-judgmental listeners. However, she warned that these relationships are commercially driven rather than therapeutic, requiring users to hand over personal data and money while prioritising engagement over wellbeing. Elaine also cautioned that reliance on agreeable AI partners may reduce people’s tolerance for the challenges of real-world relationships and increase emotional isolation.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/37682996/ai-tech-relationship-boyfriend-online/

There’s no doubt that technology is at the core of pretty much everything we do now, and many of us couldn’t imagine our lives without it. But is our relationship with technology as good as it could be?

In part one of the Stompcast podcast, Dr Elaine Kasket, cyberpsychologist and expert in how our digital choices shape our experiences, and Dr Alex George explore the concept of ‘digital remains’ and what happens to a person’s data and social media platforms once they pass away.

https://shows.acast.com/stompcast/episodes/pt-1-what-happens-to-your-data-when-you-die-dr-elaine-kasket

Cyberpsychologist Elaine Kasket discussed the trend to use Generative AI to “resurrect” deceased loved ones with Meghan McCarty Carino on Marketplace by APM's podcast Marketplace Tech recently. More and more people are using these tools to turn an old photograph into a short animation or create entire "AI clones" trained on old audio, video or written diaries. Elaine explores whether these technological advancements are a healthy development.

Cyberpsychologist Dr Elaine Kasket joined Max Foster on CNN to discuss the latest online trend: The Rapture.

She shared her insights into how platforms like TikTok are creating echo chambers that give emotionally charged viral theories a unique power to influence the brain and give them credence.

Cyberpsychologist and author Dr Elaine Kasket contributed to a TIME article exploring the rise of AI resurrection and the increasing presence of the dead in our digital lives. She raises an important question: do these technologies truly reconnect us with those who have passed away, or do they preserve the illusion that they are still with us? Elaine warns that digital recreations may distort memory, disrupt the grieving process, and make it harder for us to come to terms with life’s natural impermanence.

https://time.com/7298290/ai-death-grief-memory/