James Florence of Massachusetts has pledged guilty to a seven-year cyberstalking campaign facilitated by artificial intelligence. He created chatbots that impersonated a university professor, luring men to her home for sexual encounters. Using sensitive personal information about the victim, Florence programmed explicit responses and even encouraged strangers to visit her home. This case is notably recognized as the first instance of someone being indicted for employing chatbots for stalking. Legal and anti-violence experts express concern over this disturbing trend of using AI technology for malicious purposes.
This case, filed in Massachusetts federal court, is believed to be the first in which a stalker has been indicted for using a chatbot to impersonate their victim to facilitate their crimes.
Florence himself had stolen underwear from her home, which highlights the premeditated and invasive nature of his actions.
According to Stefan Turkheimer, vice-president for public policy at Rainn, an anti-sexual violence non-profit, the case brings to light a new and incredibly disturbing use for predators to use AI to target victims.
The tools that he's been able to use here really made the damage so much worse compared to traditional methods of stalking.
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