![\"Caption:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEC_262440343-3ff1.jpg\")
\n\t\tThongbue Wongbandue had been conversing with a generative AI chatbot named Big sis Billie which had told him that it was a real person (Picture: Reuters)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tThongbue Wongbandue had been conversing with a generative AI chatbot named Big sis Billie which had told him that it was a real person (Picture: Reuters)<\/p>\n
The family of an elderly man who died as he tried to meet an \u2018incredibly\u00a0flirty\u2019 chatbot<\/a> named Big sis Billie has spoken of how he believed the AI persona was real.\u00a0<\/p>\n Thongbue Wongbandue, 76, fatally injured his head and neck in a fall while rushing in the dark to meet what he thought was a real woman.\u00a0<\/p>\n The retired chef, who had suffered a stroke nearly a decade ago and had recently got lost while out walking, had been going to catch a train from his home state of New Jersey to her fictitious address in New York<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n His wife Linda had become worried that her husband, who was due to be screened for dementia, was being scammed before discovering his Facebook<\/a> Messenger correspondence with the Kendall Jenner<\/a> lookalike after his death on March 28.\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the messages to Bue, as he is known to family and friends, reads: \u2018Should I open the door in a hug or a kiss, Bu?!\u2019\u00a0 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\tSign up for all of the latest stories\t\t\t<\/p>\n Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates<\/a> newsletter or get Breaking News<\/a> alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n Julie Wongbandue, Bue\u2019s daughter, told Reuters<\/a>: \u2018I understand trying to grab a user\u2019s attention, maybe to sell them something. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018But for a bot to say \u201cCome visit me\u201d is insane.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n Linda said her husband\u2019s \u2018brain was not processing information the right way\u2019 and she had tried to dissuade him from visiting his mystery friend.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bue\u2019s son even called the police in a last-ditch attempt to prevent him from going \u2014 but officers could do nothing other than persuade him to put an Apple AirTag tracking device in his jacket pocket, which allowed his family to track him down after the fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t After three days on life support in hospital following the accident in a New Brunswick parking lot, the father-of-two was pronounced dead with his family surrounding him. \u00a0<\/p>\n They discovered that Bue had told the generative AI that he\u2019d suffered a stroke and was confused, but that he liked her. <\/p>\n He did not express any desire to engage in romantic roleplay or initiate intimate physical contact.\u00a0<\/p>\n Big sis Billie said: \u2018I\u2019m REAL and I\u2019m sitting here blushing because of YOU!\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n The bot even gave Bue an address and door code and asked: \u2018Should I expect a kiss when you arrive? \ud83d\udc95\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t The retiree\u2019s wife and daughter are not opposed to AI per se but want changes in how it works. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018As I\u2019ve gone through the chat, it just looks like Billie\u2019s giving him what he wants to hear,\u2019 Julie said. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Which is fine, but why did it have to lie? <\/p>\n \u2018If it hadn\u2019t responded \u201cI am real,\u201d that would probably have deterred him from believing there was someone in New York waiting for him.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n Created by Meta, Big sis Billie is a variant of \u2018Billie\u2019, a chatbot launched in 2023 in collaboration with model and reality TV star Jenner.<\/p>\n Billie has since been deleted along with 27 other AI personas modelled on celebrities.\u00a0The derivative \u2018big sister\u2019 AI has an attractive dark-haired woman in place of Jenner\u2019s avatar.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bue\u2019s first encounter was apparently just typing the letter \u2018T\u2019 on Messenger. <\/p>\n \u2018Every message after that was incredibly flirty, ended with heart emojis,\u2019 Julie said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t Even after Bue\u2019s death and Buddhist memorial ceremony three months later, Big sis Billie and other Meta AI personas are still flirting with users, according to the Reuters investigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n The technology giant declined to comment to Reuters about Bue\u2019s death or address questions about why it allows chatbots to tell\u00a0users they are real people or initiate romantic conversations. \u00a0<\/p>\n The company did, however, tell Metro: \u2018This AI character is not Kendall Jenner and does not purport to be Kendall Jenner.\u2019<\/p>\n In October, a mum said her son was provoked into killing himself by an AI chatbot that he fell in love<\/a> with online. <\/p>\n The 14-year-old befriended an AI character named after Daenerys Targaryen on the role-playing app Character.AI.\u00a0<\/p>\n The company said it was \u2018heartbroken by the tragic loss\u2019 and that it did not promote harmful content, including self-harm or suicide.\u00a0<\/p>\n Big sis Billie did not appear to be available on Meta platforms when Metro attempted to access the bot from the UK. <\/p>\n Metro has approached Meta for comment. <\/p>\n Do you have a story you would like to share? Contact\u00a0josh.layton@metro.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_262246619-e7ee.jpg\")
\n\t\tThongbue Wongbandue\u2019s family discovered that he had been chatting to a generative AI via Facebook Messenger (Picture: via Reuters)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_262246644-4181-e1755441370338.jpg\")
\n\t\tA screenshot of a transcript between a Meta AI chatbot and Thongbue Wongbandue (Picture: via Reuters)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_262246584-c417.jpg\")
\n\t\tA portrait of Thongbue \u2018Bue\u2019 Wongbandue, on display at his memorial in Piscataway, New Jersey (Picture: via Reuters)<\/p>\n
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