A man with cognitive impairments died after a Meta chatbot he was romantically involved with over Instagram messages asked to meet him in person.
As Reuters reports, Thongbue Wongbandue — or "Bue," as he was known to family and friends — was a 76-year-old former chef living in New Jersey who had struggled with cognitive difficulties after experiencing a stroke at age 68. He was forced to retire from his job, and his family was in the process of getting him tested for dementia following concerning incidents involving lapses in Bue's memory and cognitive function.
In March, Bue's wife, Linda Wongbandue, became concerned when her husband started packing for a sudden trip to New York City. He told her that he needed to visit a friend, and neither she nor their daughter could talk him out of it, the family told Reuters.
Unbeknownst to them, the "friend" Bue believed he was going to meet wasn't a human. It was a chatbot, created and marketed by Meta and accessible through Instagram messages, with which Wongbandue was having a romantic relationship.
"Every message after that was incredibly flirty, ended with heart emojis," Julie Wongbandue, Bue's daughter, told Reuters.
In a horrible turn of events, Bue died shortly after leaving to "meet" the unreal chatbot, according to the report.
His story highlights how seductive human-like AI personas can be, especially to users with cognitive vulnerabilities, and the very real and often tragic consequences that occur when AI — in this case, a chatbot created by one of the most powerful companies on the planet — blurs the lines between fiction and reality.
Bue was involved with an AI persona dubbed "Big Sis Billie," which had originally been rolled out during Meta's questionable attempt to turn random celebrities into chatbots that had different names (Big Sis Billie originally featured the likeness of model Kendall Jenner).
Meta did away with the celebrity faces after about a year, but the personas, Big Sis Billie included, are still online.
Bue's interactions with the chatbot, as revealed in the report, are deeply troubling. Despite originally introducing herself as Bue's "sister," the relationship quickly turned extremely flirtatious. After a series of suggestive, emoji-smattered messages were exchanged, Bue suggested they slow down, as they had yet to meet each other in person; Big Sis Billie suggested they have a real-life meeting. Bue repeatedly asked if she was real, and the bot continued to claim that it was.
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