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A Massachusetts man is set to plead guilty following a seven-year campaign of cyberstalking including the use of AI to create chatbots to invite strangers to his victim’s home on the premise of sexual activity.
36-year-old James Florence used several online platforms in this long-running saga, which is said to have had a devastating impact on the victim and her family.
Florence used sites such as CrushOn.ai and JanitorAI to design specific chatbots that could be directed on how to respond to users. The dialogue included sexually explicit content and openly suggestive remarks, to suggest a genuine two-way exchange.
As reported by the Guardian, court documents revealed the extent of Florence’s cyberstalking actions, not confined to just one target. He targeted six other women and a 17-year-old girl, using AI to depict them in various states of undress.
The main victim, a university professor, was known to Florence and he used this situation to his advantage. They were former friends, but from 2017 to 2024, he used her personal information including her home address, date of birth, and family details to construct an alternate reality.
Impact on the victim
Chatbots were set up to not only depict the woman but to impersonate her, and engage in sexual conversations with strangers who would then be lured to her home under false pretences.
Florence had also stolen underwear from the victim’s home.
The disturbing cyberstalking ordeal went further than chatbots, with various other online tools used to harass the victim.
Several accounts were set up across social platforms, email addresses and websites were used to distribute explicit doctored images, and personal information was leaked.
Courts documents revealed the woman and her husband told law authorities that they no longer felt safe in their home, with cameras installed and bells added to inside door handles to alert to any movements.
The victim now carries pepper spray and knives as a result of the harassment campaign
Image credit: Via Midjourney
