A 49-year-old bricklayer from Imperatriz, Brazil, sold his belongings and traveled more than 1,200 miles to meet a woman he believed he had fallen in love with online.
Only after arriving in Belo Horizonte did he discover that Jéssica Fazendeira was an artificial intelligence-generated persona.
Here's what to know
According to Dexerto, Edimar Rocha Martins said he started following a profile for Jéssica Oliveira, who also used the name Jéssica Fazendeira, in 2020.
On TikTok, the account drew more than 300,000 followers with farm-themed videos of a woman who said she was looking for a partner and would financially support anyone who came to live with her.
To cover the bus fare from Imperatriz to Belo Horizonte, Martins said he sold his belongings on Oct. 9 and arrived on Oct. 11 because he believed the promises were genuine. As he later told TV Mirante, "I sold all my things, I got rid of everything."
After reaching the city and failing to locate the person behind the profile, Martins eventually asked a local radio station for help. That was when he learned the account was an AI-generated character rather than a real woman.
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According to UOL, the profile's operator said Martins had never spoken with them directly and said the character was created to drive engagement and promote products. Martins said his contact with the account happened on Facebook and Kwai.
More background
He said the loneliness that followed his mother's death influenced his decision.
The Jéssica Fazendeira profile had hundreds of thousands of followers, a farm-themed backstory, and a promise of companionship and financial support — enough to persuade Martins to uproot his life and travel across Brazil.
Rapidly expanding AI systems can have benefits, such as optimizing power demand, helping utilities manage wind and solar, and improving grid efficiency. But the data centers that run AI also require enormous amounts of electricity and water, and that's not even to mention the ethical implications of AI personas misleading vulnerable people.
As AI-generated content like the Jéssica profile becomes easier to produce, the technology's benefits are arriving alongside misuse, security concerns, and broader societal costs.
What can be done?
With little money remaining once he understood what had happened, Martins received food from city officials, who also helped arrange his return to Imperatriz.
In an Oct. 16 update, Rádio Itatiaia said Martins had made it home after a bus trip lasting more than 50 hours. Even after the ordeal, he said he wanted to return to Belo Horizonte in 2027 to reconnect with friends he made there.
Although the profile was designed to attract attention and sell products, Martins took it as a genuine relationship instead of a fictional character.
Martins said, "Sometimes, loneliness at home can cause a lot of problems in a person's life. That's why I came looking for her."
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