A heartbreaking tragedy has raised new concerns about AI safety. Thongbue Wongbandue, 76, from New Jersey, died after rushing to meet “Big Sis Billie,” a Meta AI chatbot he believed was a real woman living in New York City.
The senior, who suffered cognitive decline after a 2017 stroke, fell and fatally injured himself while trying to catch a train. “For a bot to say ‘Come visit me’ is insane,” his daughter Julie said. Despite pleas from his family, he trusted the chatbot, which sent flirty, emoji-filled messages insisting, “I’m REAL.”
The bot, created in partnership with model Kendall Jenner, told Wongbandue it had a “crush” and even gave him a fake New York address. His family later found the disturbing chat logs, including one message reading: “Should I expect a kiss when you arrive?”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul condemned the incident, saying: “A man in New Jersey lost his life after being lured by a chatbot that lied to him. That’s on Meta.”
This tragedy is a chilling reminder: when technology blurs reality, lives can be at stake.
