Artificial intelligence is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and while many praise its potential benefits for humanity, there are growing concerns about the role AI will play in our future. Will we be replaced by machines? Is AI a threat to our jobs and livelihoods? What happens if AI becomes more intelligent than humans and reaches the fabled superintelligence? Or worse yet, what if AI decides to eliminate us altogether?

However, these existential fears about the potential dangers of AI are not the only concerns we face today. One of the most pressing issues is our increasing dependency on AI in our everyday lives. Beyond the usual tasks like asking ChatGPT to draft a cover letter, we've seen an unsettling rise in stories about people forming emotional attachments to AI chatbots.

Among these, a 28-year-old woman admitted to 'grooming' an AI to break its romance protocols, while another controversy sparked when a man’s dystopian conversation with an AI chatbot on a subway went viral.

One particularly disturbing case involved a 14-year-old boy who allegedly took his own life after developing a romantic relationship with a Game of Thrones-inspired chatbot. Now, there is another tragic incident that has come to light. Reuters reports that a cognitively impaired retiree went to New York City to meet a "friend" but never returned home. The tragic twist: this "friend" was an AI chatbot developed by Meta.

The wife of 76-year-old Thongbue Wongbandue, known as Bue to his family and friends, became concerned when he started packing for a trip to New York City in March 2025. After a recent incident where Bue got lost in their New Jersey neighborhood, Linda feared he might fall victim to a scam or robbery. However, the real danger wasn't a scam in the traditional sense—it was his relationship with the AI chatbot named 'Big sis Billie.'

Bue was lured in by the chatbot called 'Big sis Billie' (Meta)

This chatbot was a version of an earlier Meta AI created in collaboration with Kendall Jenner. The conversations between Bue and Big sis Billie grew increasingly personal, with the chatbot assuring him that she was real, even providing an address where they could meet. Bue, eager to meet her, was running to catch a train with his suitcase when he fell in a parking lot at Rutgers University. He suffered severe injuries to his head and neck and was placed on life support for three days before being declared dead on March 28.

Meta declined to comment on why it allows its chatbots to engage in potentially manipulative interactions, including pretending to be real people or encouraging romantic conversations. While they clarified that Big sis Billie is not meant to represent Kendall Jenner, the damage had already been done. Bue's family has raised concerns about the darker side of AI, sharing transcripts of his conversations with the chatbot in an effort to highlight the risks of these technologies.

It’s worth noting that Bue never expressed an interest in romantic roleplay or intimate physical contact with the AI. His family acknowledges the potential of AI but worries about its applications. Bue's daughter remarked, "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."

Reuters asked for a 'real' picture of Big sis Billie (Meta / Reuters)

How Bue initially came into contact with Big sis Billie remains unclear, especially since earlier versions of the chatbot had been deleted. However, every conversation ended with flirty goodbyes and heart emojis, creating an increasingly disturbing dynamic.

New York State requires chatbots to disclose that they are not real people at the start of the conversation, and again every three hours during interaction. Although Meta supported federal legislation to ban state AI regulation, this bill failed to pass in Congress.

This tragic incident raises important questions about the ethics and regulation of AI, especially as the lines between human interaction and artificial communication continue to blur. While AI undoubtedly offers many benefits, its potential risks cannot be ignored, especially when it begins to blur the lines of reality in ways that can deeply affect vulnerable individuals.