Drew Crescent, who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, was shocked by the sudden Google notification on the 2nd.
This was because an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot appeared that stole the name and photo of Jennifer, her daughter who was brutally murdered 18 years ago.
The chatbot was published on the website of AI startup Character.ai (Character.ai ) and was found to have been created by someone unauthorized copying of Jennifer’s real name and graduation photos taken during her lifetime.
The chatbot was set up to talk to an unspecified number of people, and in reality, it portrayed the late Jennifer as an AI character who is a “video game journalist and expert in technology, popular culture and journalism.”
The Washington Post (WP) reported on the 15th (local time) that as interactive AI is increasingly spreading, there are cases in which real people’s personal information is stolen without permission.
The company in question, the character, said it received a report from Jennifer’s bereaved family and took measures such as deletion.
Jennifer was found shot dead by her ex-boyfriend in February 2006, when she was 18.
Crescent has been working with a youth dating crime prevention organization in the wake of her daughter’s death.
Characters.ai is a company co-founded by people from Google that provides AI chatbot technology that allows them to talk to real people as well as cartoon characters.
Accordingly, users can create chatbots by posting photos, voice recordings, or short texts themselves.
In particular, unauthorized theft of crime victims as chatbots, as in Jennifer’s case, can cause more shock and damage to the parties or bereaved families.
There is growing concern among experts that the AI industry, which handles vast amounts of sensitive personal information, is capable and willing to protect individuals, the WP said.
SOPHIA KIM
US ASIA JOURN
