N.J. man died trying to meet 'flirty' woman from Facebook. She was an AI chatbot.
Thongbue Wongbandue, 76, died March 28 after falling and injuring his head and neck in a parking lot on Rutgers University's campus in New Brunswick, according to Reuters.
The Piscataway man, who had been impaired since suffering a stroke in 2017, was on his way to meet what turned out to be a Meta chatbot named 'Big sis Billie' in New York City, after the bot persuaded him to meet 'her' in person.
Against his family's wishes, Wongbandue (also known simply as Bue) was headed to the train before he fell. He was put on life support for three days before succumbing to his injuries.
His wife, daughter and son tried to deter him from making the trip due to his cognitive decline, according to the report. The family even reportedly called in the Piscataway Township Police Department to help bar their father from leaving.
When the family went through his phone, they discovered his Facebook Messenger chat log with an AI bot named 'Big sis Billie.'
The chat log contained flirty messages from the bot like 'Should I plan a trip to Jersey THIS WEEKEND to meet you in person?' 'I'm REAL and I'm sitting here blushing because of YOU!,' 'Is this a sisterly sleepover or are you hinting something more is going on here?' Most of the chatbot's messages included flirty emojis like hearts and winky faces as well.
The Meta-created chatbot was designed in collaboration with Kendall Jenner in 2023, featuring the socialite's likeness as its avatar. It was intended to be a sibling-like bot who could offer personal advice like an older sister would. Less than a year later it was remodeled in the image of another dark-haired woman in place of the original Jenner avatar.
Meta declined to comment on Wongbandue's death but the company did declare that Big sis Billie 'is not Kendall Jenner and does not purport to be Kendall Jenner,' according to the report.
Wongbandue, a Thailand native and longtime New York City and New Jersey chef, is not the first case of a person dying while dealing with a chatbot.
The mother of a 14-year-old Florida boy sued Character.AI after alleging a 'Game of Thrones' designed chatbot caused her son to commit suicide.
More entertainment news:
Guinness World Record-holder who surfed every single day for 40 years dies at 77
YouTuber caught sexual predators on Roblox. Now he's facing ban from the platform.
Popular singer scolds fan for bringing baby to concert. 'Protect his ears or something.'
'90s sitcom star threatened with fat jokes if she didn't lose weight for hit show, she says
Grammy-winning Latin music pioneer who lived in N.J. dies at 88
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Christopher Burch can be reached at cburch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @SwishBurch. Find NJ.comon Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.
Solve the daily Crossword
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Impresses Jim Cramer With Its Toughness
We recently published . Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)'s shares have lost 16% year-to-date as investors continue to be disappointed by the dropping revenue of its GARDASIL HPV drug in China. They are also worried about the patent expiration of the firm's mega cancer drug KEYTRUDA and wondering whether Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) will be able to follow up with an equally successful successor. However, the shares did gain 3% this week after Pfizer announced that its bladder cancer drug PADCEV improves survival rates when paired with KEYTRUDA. Cramer was impressed as he commented: 'Look at Merck. I mean, Saint Merck. What a tough, what a tough.' Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash Here are his earlier comments about Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK): 'Well, this GARDASIL, when is it? The Chinese are not really helping them sell, because you would have thought the Chinese would. . .and then you've got the KEYTRUDA, you know the patent cliff coming up. . .it's amazing, but they are talking about their animal division. When you're talking about your animal division you don't have enough [inaudible] to talk.' While we acknowledge the potential of MRK as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Salesforce, Inc. (CRM)'s CEO Is Pushing Back Against The AI Vs Enterprise Software Narrative, Says Jim Cramer
We recently published . Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)'s shares have lost 28% year-to-date as the firm has struggled to retain investor attention in the age of AI. Like investors are hawkishly watching its revenue pipeline and revenue commitments for the rest of the year – a fact which led the stock to dip 5% in May after its fiscal first quarter earnings. Cramer discussed the sentiment surrounding enterprise software stocks and CEO Marc Benioff's attempts to counter it: '. . .and I think that people should recognize that these companies are all being viewed as, let's say carrion, because what's happened is this that you can develop your own stuff that is better. Now Marc Benioff is doing some pushback on that by the way, he's saying that if you're doing process stuff, you're not going to be able to, maybe creative, that would be Adobe. But not, Salesforce. So Marc's pushing back Salesforce. . .' Pixabay/Public Domain Here are his previous remarks about Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM): 'Okay, so Salesforce is a little tough right now because right now, the enterprise software companies are all coming down. I have not been recommending the stock hard. I want to see what happens with the quarter. I wish I could be more definite, but sometimes it's better just to say I don't have a handle on it.' While we acknowledge the potential of CRM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Intel Corporation (INTC): They Have To Fix The Balance Sheet, Says Jim Cramer
We recently published . Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)'s shares have stabilized this week after CEO Lip-Bu Tan met with President Trump to assure him of his loyalty to America. Trump had demanded last week that Tan leave his role as Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)'s CEO due to his ties with Chinese companies. Cramer commented on the developments and on reports of disagreements within the firm's board: Thank you for bringing that [story about differences in Intel's board] up because I was going to go over that story, now I don't have to. But it's totally overblown. Pixabay/Public Domain 'Don't you think it's interesting that Gelsinger was one of the presenters for Lip-Bu Tan when he won the 2022 Noyce Award. And then, what happened? He resigned from the board, remember in protest to Gelsinger's stuff, Lip-Bu Tan. And now he's running it. And news outlets have the story that there's dissension? When I can't find a single dissenter? I can't! While we acknowledge the potential of INTC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
