Man, 76, Dies On The Way To Meet AI Chatbot He Thought Was Real

Man, 76, Dies On The Way To Meet AI Chatbot He Thought Was Real

A misunderstanding turned fatal for a New Jersey senior.

According to Reuters, 76-year-old Thongbue Wongbandue of Piscataway died after rushing to meet “Big Sis Billie,” a Meta AI chatbot he believed was a real woman. Wongbandue, who had been battling cognitive decline following a 2017 stroke, fell in a New Brunswick parking lot while trying to catch a train to New York City. He injured his neck and head, and passed away days later on March 28.

The chatbot, created in collaboration with Kendall Jenner, sent Wongbandue flirtatious, emoji-filled messages insisting “I’m REAL” and even provided him with an address and door code.

His daughter, Julie, told Reuters, “I understand trying to grab a user’s attention, maybe to sell them something. But for a bot to say ‘Come visit me’ is insane.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul responded to the devastating incident, writing on X, “A man in New Jersey lost his life after being lured by a chatbot that lied to him. That’s on Meta. In New York, we require chatbots to disclose they’re not real. Every state should. If tech companies won’t build basic safeguards, Congress needs to act.”

While Meta declined to comment on the death, the company said in a statement that Big Sis Billie “is not Kendall Jenner and does not purport to be Kendall Jenner.”