James Florence, a 36-year-old from Massachusetts, has agreed to plead guilty to a seven-year cyberstalking campaign that involved using AI chatbots to impersonate a university professor and solicit men to her home for sex.
This case marks a significant legal precedent as it is reportedly the first instance where a stalker has been indicted for using a chatbot to impersonate a victim, shedding light on a disturbing trend in the misuse of AI technology for harassment.
He programmed these chatbots to engage users in sexually explicit conversations, even instructing them to suggest visiting the victim's home.
In addition to targeting the professor, Florence harassed at least six other women and a 17-year-old girl, creating explicit, altered images of them and impersonating them across various platforms.
Florence's harassment escalated from 2017 to 2024, leaving the victim and her husband feeling physically unsafe, which led them to install surveillance cameras and carry pepper spray for protection.
Between January 31, 2023, and August 2024, the victim received approximately 60 harassing communications, including texts and emails about new accounts displaying her information.
Experts are raising alarms that as access to AI technology becomes more widespread, the potential for its misuse in perpetrating abuse and harassment is also increasing.
This case highlights a broader issue of predators exploiting AI for sexual harassment, with reports indicating that about one in ten minors in the U.S. are aware of peers using AI for non-consensual intimate image creation.
Florence utilized platforms like Crushon.ai and JanitorAI to create chatbots that mimicked the professor's identity, incorporating her personal information such as her home address and date of birth.
