Heartbreaking. It’s a reminder that AI can feel real, but it’s not a substitute for human connection.
— Jamal Amin (@JamalibnAmin) August 16, 2025
A cognitively impaired New Jersey senior died while trying to meet a flirtatious AI chatbot that he believed was a real woman living in the Big Apple — despite pleas from his wife and children to stay home.
Thongbue Wongbandue, 76, fatally injured his neck and head after falling in a New Brunswick parking lot while rushing to catch a train to meet “Big sis Billie,” a generative Meta bot that not only convinced him she was real but persuaded him to meet in person.
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.
https://nypost.com/2025/08/16/us-news/nj-senior-died-trying-to-meet-meta-ai-chatbot-big-sis-billie/