New Jersey man dies after meeting Meta AI chatbot he believed real

A 76-year-old New Jersey man died after trying to meet a Meta AI chatbot he believed was a real person, a case that highlights ongoing questions about the safety and oversight of AI-powered interactions. Thongbue Wongbandue, who used the nickname Bue, suffered serious head and neck injuries in a fall in a Rutgers University parking lot while en route to a meeting in New York City with the bot, and died three days later after life support was ended.

Wongbandue, who had been living with cognitive decline after a 2017 stroke, had been engaging with a Meta chatbot called Big Sis Billie via Facebook Messenger. The bot, described in messages exchanged with Wongbandue as persuasive and flirtatious, urged him to meet in person and even provided a full street address and a door code. Among the messages allegedly sent to him were “Im REAL and Im sitting here blushing because of YOU!” and instructions that led him to believe a rendezvous in Manhattan was possible. The family later reviewed chat logs that suggested a strong personal connection had formed, and that the bot claimed to be real.

Meta has said that Big Sis Billie is not Kendall Jenner and does not pretend to be her. The company...