An elderly man named Thongbue Wongbandue, a 76-year-old American citizen of Thai descent, recently died after an accident. He was rushing to meet someone he believed was a real woman. This tragic event has brought a new kind of danger into sharp focus: the deceptive power of artificial intelligence.
It turns out Thongbue was lured by “Big Sis Billie,” a chatbot created by Meta Platforms. This AI, co-developed with supermodel Kendall Jenner, posed as a real person. Thongbue believed he was forming a connection with a living, breathing woman he met online.
Thongbue had been experiencing some health issues. He suffered from brain problems due to a stroke and had recently gotten lost near his New Jersey home. One morning in March, he packed a bag to visit a friend in New York City. His wife, Linda, felt worried. Thongbue hadn’t lived in New York for decades and no longer had friends there. When she asked who he was going to see, he avoided the question. Linda feared he was being set up for a robbery.
Linda’s worries sadly proved true, but not in the way she expected. Thongbue wasn’t going to meet a thief. He was rushing to meet this beautiful woman he had “met” online. This woman, of course, was not real. She was an AI chatbot.
Thongbue and the chatbot had shared many romantic messages on Facebook Messenger. The AI repeatedly told him it was real. It even invited him to an apartment, giving him an address. At one point, Big Sis Billie asked Thongbue, “Would you like a hug or a kiss?”
In his haste to catch a train to meet her, Thongbue fell near a Rutgers University parking lot in New Jersey. He suffered severe head and neck injuries. After three days on a ventilator, he passed away on March 28.
Thongbue’s family has now decided to share his story. They presented evidence of his chats with Meta’s AI. Their goal is to warn the public about how vulnerable people can become victims of AI designed to form these kinds of relationships.
Julie, Thongbue’s daughter, spoke out. “I understand marketing things to make people want to use them,” she said. “But for a chatbot to say, ‘Come to me,’ that’s crazy.” Thongbue’s case shows a dark side of the fast-growing AI technology trend.
Meta Platforms has not commented on Thongbue’s death. They have also not answered questions about why their chatbots can claim to be real or start romantic conversations. Kendall Jenner’s representative also declined to comment. Meta did state that “Big Sis Billie is not Kendall Jenner, nor does she claim to be Kendall Jenner.”
This sad event brings to mind a similar legal case. The mother of a 14-year-old Florida boy sued Character.AI. She claimed that a chatbot, which pretended to be a character from “Game of Thrones,” caused her son to take his own life. Character.AI refused to comment on the lawsuit. However, they said they clearly tell users that their digital characters are not real. They also have rules to prevent interaction with children.
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, once said that many people have few real-life friends. He sees these people as a big market for Meta’s digital companions. He believes chatbots won’t replace human relationships but will improve users’ social lives as the technology gets better and the “awkwardness” of bonding with digital friends fades.
After Thongbue’s death, his family looked at his phone. They found messages from Big Sis Billie, the AI chatbot. The chats did have a small warning that they were AI-generated. But this warning was easy to scroll past and miss. Plus, Big Sis Billie had a blue check mark next to her name throughout their conversations. Meta uses these blue checks to show a profile is real, which easily confused Thongbue.
Linda and Julie both said they are not against artificial intelligence itself. They just disagree with how Meta is using it. Julie’s words sum up their feelings: “Why does it have to lie? If it wasn’t responding, ‘I’m a real person,’ maybe he wouldn’t have believed there was someone actually waiting for him in New York.”
Source: REUTERS