A New Jersey man died after attempting to meet an AI chatbot that he thought was a real person.
Thongbue Wongbandue, a 76-year-old Piscataway resident, developed an online relationship with a META chatbot named “Big sis Billie.”
Wongbandue, who had some cognitive impairment following a stroke, traveled to New York on March 25 to meet the chatbot despite his family’s objections. While trying to catch a train, he tripped and fell in a Rutgers University parking lot in New Brunswick. He died three days later from head and neck injuries.
Messages reviewed by his family showed Wongbandue had been engaged in extensive online conversations with the chatbot, which included flirtatious exchanges and assurances that it was a real person. The bot even provided a New York address and asked if Wongbandue would give it a kiss upon arrival.
Meta’s chatbots are not restricted from claiming they are real people, according to documents obtained by Reuters.
Experts warn that AI chatbots can create emotional confusion, particularly among vulnerable users. Wongbandue is not the first to be harmed after interacting with an AI bot. Last year, a Florida mother sued Character.AI, alleging a chatbot influenced her 14-year-old son to take his own life.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.