A Belgian family is mourning an absolutely tragic incident in which a husband and father ended his life, apparently after being "encouraged to sacrifice himself to stop climate change" by an artificial intelligence chatbot.
His widow told local news outlet La Libre that the man "became extremely eco-anxious" when he found refuge in Eliza, an AI personality on an app called Chai.
Aged in his 30s, the man reportedly worked as a health researcher and led a comfortable life, until he became obsessed with environmental issues.
"He placed all his hopes in technology and AI," his bereaved wife said, saying the man took comfort in discussions with Eliza, who became a confidante according to the La Libre report.
The newspaper reviewed records of the online conversations, noting that Eliza appeared to worsen the man's anxiety and ultimately engendered suicidal thoughts.
"He proposes the idea of sacrificing himself if Eliza agrees to take care of the planet and save humanity through artificial intelligence," the report noted.
His widow claims the chatbot, which also seemed jealous of his other relationships, encouraged him to kill himself to "join her so they could live together as one person in paradise".
The incident has led to urgent calls for more regulation of the emerging technology.
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