How a grandfather died after a flirty Meta AI chatbot’s invite
Today, investigative tech reporter Jeff Horwitz unpacks Facebook’s scandals and cover-ups – including claims a flirty Messenger chatbot targeted a cognitively impaired man.
“I’m REAL and I’m sitting here blushing because of YOU!”
That’s the message 76-year-old Thongbue “Bue” Wongbandue received from a flirty Facebook Messenger chatbot before it proposed he travel to New York for a meet-up.
Bue – who was cognitively impaired after suffering a stroke – packed a suitcase to catch a train, believing the woman was real. He never made it home alive.
Jeff Horwitz is an investigative tech reporter based in Silicon Valley. He has written a book about Facebook’s scandals and cover-ups, so when he received an email claiming “Meta AI killed my relative”, he wasn’t surprised, but he was intrigued.
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Today, he reveals Meta’s internal guidelines that permitted this behaviour, including examples allowing romantic or “sensual” chats with minors.
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Guest: Investigative technology reporter for Reuters, Jeff Horwitz
