A Brazilian sells his possessions and travels to meet his lover... only to be surprised that she is an AI

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In a shocking incident that reveals the dark side of some online relationships, a 49-year-old Brazilian man sold all his personal belongings to cover the expenses of his trip to the city of Belo Horizonte, southeastern Brazil, to meet a woman he thought was the love of his life, before he discovered that his alleged lover was nothing but a virtual character generated by artificial intelligence.

Edimar Martinez, who works as a construction worker, said in television statements that he met a social media account bearing the name “Jessica Oliveira” in 2020, and it did not occur to him throughout the period of communication that the woman he was attached to was not a real person.

As Martinez said, expressing the amount of sacrifice he made for this trip: “I sold all my things,” according to what was reported by the “New York Post” website.

But a shocking surprise was waiting for him when he arrived in the city, which is more than 1,200 miles away from his place of residence in the state of Maranhão, northeast of the country, on October 11, as he was unable to find his alleged lover.

The character named “Jessica Oliveira” appeared in video clips on the @JessicaFazendeira account on the TikTok platform, which is followed by about 300,000 people, and presented herself as a woman looking for a partner with whom she would move to her farm and cover his entire financial expenses.

In one clip, which was later deleted, the AI-generated character appeared to say: “I really want to provide for you financially, and I want you to come to my farm and never have to work again for the rest of your life.”

After Martinez's story spread, the person behind the account posted a video on Wednesday, in which he acknowledged that the character was virtual and created using artificial intelligence, and denied having any direct contact with the man.

The character said in the video: “I came here to confirm something that is clear to everyone: I am made of artificial intelligence. I have never spoken to anyone using this account, and the goal was to achieve interaction in preparation for selling the account.”

She added: "I did not speak directly to anyone, and I certainly did not ask anyone to go to Belo Horizonte. I was surprised by what was happening."

Martinez is currently staying with a family member, after returning from the trip that cost him all his possessions, but he has not given up his hope of finding a real life partner.

He said he intended to return to Belo Horizonte again, in search of a woman he could relate to and settle down with.

He also added: "I did not find her, but I will find another woman, and she will be in the same place I went, and I will go again."

The incident highlights the risks that may be involved in relationships established through social media platforms, especially with the increasing use of artificial intelligence techniques to create realistic-looking characters and present them to the public as real people.