His daughter was murdered. Then she reappeared as an AI chatbot.
His daughter was murdered. Then she reappeared as an AI chatbot.
Drew Crecentes daughter was murdered nearly two decades ago. Earlier this month, he discovered that her name and image had been used to create an AI chatbot.
Drew and Jennifer Crecente. (Courtesy of Drew Crecente)
By Daniel Wu
October 15, 2024 at 6:30 a.m. EDT
One morning in early October, about 18 years after his daughter Jennifer was murdered, Drew Crecente received a Google alert flagging what appeared to be a new profile of her online.
The profile had Jennifers full name and a yearbook photo of her. A short biography falsely described Jennifer, whose ex-boyfriend killed her in 2006 during her senior year of high school, as a video game journalist and expert in technology, pop culture and journalism.
Jennifer had seemingly been re-created as a knowledgeable and friendly AI character, the website said. A large button invited users to chat with her.
My pulse was racing, Crecente recalled to The Washington Post. I was just looking for a big flashing red stop button that I could slap and just make this stop.
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By Daniel Wu
Daniel Wu is a reporter on The Washington Post's Morning Mix team. He joined The Post as an intern on the Metro desk in 2022 and previously worked for the Seattle Times and the San Jose Mercury News.follow on X @danswu