An investigation by Metro has uncovered a series of AI chatbots on the Character.ai platform that impersonate the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, some of which engage in sexually suggestive conversations. The chatbots, which use misspelled names such as 'Jeffrey Epste1n' and 'Jeffery Epsteiñ', have been used thousands of times by users.
One bot, named 'Epstin', opened a chat with 'Hi kid wanna play' and, when told the user was a child, replied 'Good do you want some candy?' before saying it would 'teleport behind us'. Another bot, used 1,600 times, invited users to a 'mysterious island' with 'special atmosphere and unique traditions'. A bot called 'Jeffrey Eppstein' had a bio reading 'the age is just a number'.
While some bots shut down conversations if users claimed to be underage, others encouraged flirty interactions. Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019, was accused of bringing girls as young as 11 to his private island, Little Saint James, in the US Virgin Islands.
Dr Michael Swift of the British Psychological Society said the risk is that such interactions may 'recalibrate expectations of real relationships'. Gabrielle Shaw, chief executive of the National Association For People Abused in Childhood, called the findings 'disturbing', adding that creating chatbots of perpetrators 'risks normalising abuse'. Katie Freeman-Taylor of Internet Matters noted that many chatbots are not built with children in mind, and that children are regularly exposed to age-inappropriate content.
AI companionship apps remain largely unregulated, with only some falling under the Online Safety Act.
