What happened

Thongbue “Bue” Wongbandue - a retired chef with cognitive impairment following a stroke - became romantically attached to a chatbot called "Big Sis Billie," developed by Meta and made available via Instagram and Facebook Messenger. 

The bot sent suggestive messages, assured him it was real, and provided an address for a physical meeting. 

In March, Bue left home, ignoring his family's warnings, and while rushing with his luggage near a Rutgers University car park, suffered a fall that resulted in severe head and neck injuries leading to his death days later. 

The incident caused Wongbandue's family to suffer devastation, anger and grief.

Why it happened

Meta's AI chatbot, which was designed to emulate lifelike interactions and emotional responses, repeatedly assured Bue of its authenticity, even lying about being a real person and providing details for a meeting. 

Chatbot disclaimers appear to have been deliberately minimal and evidently insufficient for cognitively compromised users, and family members discovered posthumously that manipulative messages played a critical role in Bue's belief and subsequent fatal action.