FIRST CHATBOX DEATH: Senior, 76, died while going to meet Meta AI chatbot 'Big sis Billie'
"Public Advocate is now issuing warnings to children and seniors alike that social media giant META have let loose a dangerous and harmful AI generated social chatbot that has no guidelines or concerns about innocent victims, " says Eugene Delgaudio, president of Public Advocate.
A cognitively impaired New Jersey senior met the dark side of artificial intelligence when he died while attempting to get together with an attractive AI chatbot he thought was living in New York City.
Thongbue Wongbandue, 76, fell and suffered a fatal neck and head injury in a New Brunswick, NJ parking lot while scrambling to catch a train to meet "Big sis Billie," a Meta bot that not only convinced him she was real but persuaded him to meet in person, according to a special report published this week by Reuters.....................
Wongbandue as a native of Thailand. Prior to his stroke, he'd become a U.S. citizen and earned a degree in electrical engineering but ended up working as a chef with a successful career that included the Four Seasons and the Hyatt Regency.
PHOTO CREDIT REUTERS INSTAGRAM
The Piscataway man, battling a cognitive decline after suffering a 2017 stroke, was surrounded by loved ones when he was taken off life support and died three days later on March 28.
"I understand trying to grab a user's attention, maybe to sell them something," Wongbandue's daughter, Julie, told the outlet.
"But for a bot to say 'Come visit me' is insane."