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<v Speaker 1>It's time for True Crime Tuesday. The story is true,

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<v Speaker 1>sounds true? No, it sounds made up. I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>Gerry and Shannon present True Crime, all right.

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<v Speaker 2>I've had my car stolen. I know a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>people have had their car. In fact, I've had two

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<v Speaker 2>cars stolen in the course of my career. I suppose

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<v Speaker 2>there is a whole new world of car thievery that

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<v Speaker 2>is going on, and it is concentrated along the West

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<v Speaker 2>Coast and more specifically right in Washington, d C. Think

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<v Speaker 2>think of the violent carjackings that we've heard of in

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<v Speaker 2>DC in just the last couple of years.

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<v Speaker 1>Right.

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<v Speaker 2>For example, the attempted robbery of a vehicle used to

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<v Speaker 2>transport oh, I don't know, the President's granddaughter, Joe Biden's

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<v Speaker 2>granddaughter Naomi. Secret Service agents had to shoot a guy.

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<v Speaker 2>Another Washington shootout involved US marshals who were consecurity for

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<v Speaker 2>Justice Sonya Sotomayor. There was an FBI agent who was

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<v Speaker 2>carjacked by a seventeen year old. Congressman Henry Quaar of

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<v Speaker 2>Texas had a gun stuck in his face and his

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<v Speaker 2>car was stolen. A guy who was arrested after crashing

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<v Speaker 2>in a stolen vehicle, evaded police custody at the hospital,

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<v Speaker 2>then stole an ambulance to escape. He was seen in

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<v Speaker 2>surveillance footage driving away while wearing an hospital gown with

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<v Speaker 2>the IV needle still in his arm. The thriving used

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<v Speaker 2>car market of West Africa, it's what's driving the stolen

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<v Speaker 2>car market.

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<v Speaker 1>On the East coast of the United States.

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<v Speaker 2>There have been I think it's about what is it,

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<v Speaker 2>a million, roughly a million cars in twenty twenty three.

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<v Speaker 2>Car theft had been falling steadily since nineteen ninety one,

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<v Speaker 2>and then we saw at least most of that, I

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<v Speaker 2>should say most of it, not at least most of

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<v Speaker 2>that was because of simple security systems that became very,

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<v Speaker 2>very popular in cars and then became installed. They came

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<v Speaker 2>installed on cars that you would buy. But early twenty

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<v Speaker 2>twenty auto thefts have increased by about thirty percent. And

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<v Speaker 2>the statistics for last year are incomplete, but right now

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<v Speaker 2>they already suggest that we could see a record number

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<v Speaker 2>of car thefts and violent car thefts like carjackings in

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<v Speaker 2>the year twenty twenty four. About ten percent of those

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<v Speaker 2>cars that are stolen in the United States today are

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<v Speaker 2>smuggled overseas and what's amazing is those used car brokers

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<v Speaker 2>in West Africa. They are very specific about what kind

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<v Speaker 2>of cars they want. You saw this in Gone in

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<v Speaker 2>sixty seconds. There's a market out there for high end

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<v Speaker 2>cars and all it takes is a buyer to say

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<v Speaker 2>something like I want a twenty twenty four Mercedes SL

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<v Speaker 2>three fifty with leather interior, and you go get your

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<v Speaker 2>henchmen to go out and find that car. The majority

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<v Speaker 2>of times, the most common way to see deal of

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<v Speaker 2>vehicle is the most basic. Find one with the engine

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<v Speaker 2>still running and the keys inside. That is a crime

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<v Speaker 2>of opportunity, and according to law enforcement, that's about forty

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<v Speaker 2>percent of car thefts are again just the most basic.

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<v Speaker 2>You left your car running and you left your keys inside.

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<v Speaker 2>Think about times of extreme heat or cold. When it's

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<v Speaker 2>one hundred and fifteen in the valley, you leave your

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<v Speaker 2>car on to keep the air conditioning running. Or extreme cold.

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<v Speaker 2>That's probably even more likely where you don't want the

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<v Speaker 2>car to freeze up. So at fifteen below, I'm looking

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<v Speaker 2>at you, Minnesota. You leave the car running, you leave

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<v Speaker 2>the ignition fob in the center console, maybe not the

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<v Speaker 2>key with the ignition anymore. You are trying to carry

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<v Speaker 2>a bag of groceries into the house and they slip

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<v Speaker 2>in while you're in the house and take your car

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<v Speaker 2>and they're gone. If you figure that each I'm gonna

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<v Speaker 2>say punk kid, because I'm gonna make generalization, gets about

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<v Speaker 2>five hundred to one thousand, maybe fifteen hundred dollars a car,

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<v Speaker 2>especially for the higher end ones. Then the next guy

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<v Speaker 2>is going to get about two thousand four it, and

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<v Speaker 2>the next guy's going to get twenty five or three

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<v Speaker 2>thousand for it, and the price goes up so that,

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<v Speaker 2>for example, in West Africa, the most sought after vehicle

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<v Speaker 2>is probably a range drover or a Toyota pickup or

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<v Speaker 2>a BMW Sedan. And if you get a BMW seven

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<v Speaker 2>series to your pickup point, you're going to get fifteen

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<v Speaker 2>hundred bucks for it.

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<v Speaker 1>But as it goes along the supply.

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<v Speaker 2>Chain, you've got the fence, you've got the shipping company,

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<v Speaker 2>you've got the customs broker.

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<v Speaker 1>Everybody has to get paid.

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<v Speaker 2>And even after expenses, there's plenty of profit because you

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<v Speaker 2>could sell that same BMW seven series for about fifty

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<v Speaker 2>thousand dollars in the capital of Ghana. And like I said, Washington, DC,

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<v Speaker 2>was sort of the ground zero for a lot of this.

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<v Speaker 2>In one specific place, there was a parking garage on

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<v Speaker 2>Florida in Washington, DC that was an ideal place to

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<v Speaker 2>stash the Mercedes or the BMW or the Dodge Challenger.

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<v Speaker 2>The stolen car business was so robust in Washington in

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<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty three that that parking garage became a de

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<v Speaker 2>facto showroom for these stolen cars. The buyers and the

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<v Speaker 2>sellers would meet there every night, they would inspect the cars,

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<v Speaker 2>the deal was sealed. Cars not sold within hours were

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<v Speaker 2>listed on Instagram. They were shown by appointment, and it

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<v Speaker 2>was dependable. It was a business. It was a marketplace

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<v Speaker 2>that opened up. Text messages that were intercepted by law

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<v Speaker 2>enforcement captured the buyers that were placing orders for very

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<v Speaker 2>specific cars, very specific makes and models. One eighteen year

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<v Speaker 2>old delivering stolen vehicles had six carjackings in a week.

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<v Speaker 2>There was a twelve year old who made headlines throughout

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<v Speaker 2>all of twenty twenty two and into last year after

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<v Speaker 2>he stole a BMA, a Jaguar, an Audi, a Tesla,

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<v Speaker 2>a cargo van, and at one point he hit a

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<v Speaker 2>half a dozen dealerships in Maryland. In less than a month.

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<v Speaker 2>He had been arrested twenty two times by the middle

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<v Speaker 2>of last year, but because the Maryland judicial reform stipulated

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<v Speaker 2>that kids under the age of thirteen couldn't be charged

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<v Speaker 2>with property crimes, he was returned back to the property

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<v Speaker 2>to the custody of his parents. Kids like that being

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<v Speaker 2>manipulated by older gang members come in as pseudo father

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<v Speaker 2>figures and the kids, a lot of them. Teenagers brag

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<v Speaker 2>about their recent heightsts. They text each other gtarl Grand

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<v Speaker 2>theft auto real life.

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<v Speaker 1>You can train on social media.

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<v Speaker 2>You could see the Kia challenge on how to pick

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<v Speaker 2>up a key or a Hyundai using a screwdriver in

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<v Speaker 2>a USB cable. But the GPS tracker that you have

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<v Speaker 2>in your car, that's not gonna help. They know where

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<v Speaker 2>those are. They'll just pull him out. And most of them,

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<v Speaker 2>like I said, some of the high end cars end

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<v Speaker 2>up in West Africa for the burgeoning stolen used car

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<v Speaker 2>market there for those high end the Mercedes that'd range

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<v Speaker 2>rovers and things like that. About some of those weird

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<v Speaker 2>and unbelievable stories in the world of crime, and this

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<v Speaker 2>is a kind of a combination of crime and artificial intelligence.

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<v Speaker 1>And this is something that should be a crime.

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<v Speaker 2>Drew Crecente a couple of months ago got a Google

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<v Speaker 2>alert that flagged what appeared to be a new profile

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<v Speaker 2>of his daughter online, the daughter that had been murdered

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<v Speaker 2>eighteen years earlier. It had Jennifer's full name, It had

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<v Speaker 2>an old high school yearbook photo of her. It had

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<v Speaker 2>a biography of Jennifer. It said she was a video

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<v Speaker 2>game journalist. It said she was an expert in technology,

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<v Speaker 2>pop culture, and journalism. The website where this new profile

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<v Speaker 2>popped up was character dot Ai, and Jennifer's image and

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<v Speaker 2>likeness were used to create a chatbot that people could

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<v Speaker 2>talk to.

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<v Speaker 1>Now. The company.

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<v Speaker 2>Is a website that allows you to converse with digital

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<v Speaker 2>personalities using the generative artificial intelligence. Think you're having a

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<v Speaker 2>conversation with a computer like chat GPT or grock on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 2>but it's interacting with you as if it's a person.

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<v Speaker 2>These chatbots engage in conversation. They can be programmed to

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<v Speaker 2>adopt specific personalities, biographical details of specific characters, whether they're

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<v Speaker 2>real characters or imagine. You know, you can program it

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<v Speaker 2>to be Benjamin Franklin or Darth Vader. And these companies

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<v Speaker 2>that put up these chatbots have found a growing audience

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<v Speaker 2>online because people want friends or mentors, or they want

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<v Speaker 2>romantic partners. But this controversial technology also comes with incredible drawbacks.

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<v Speaker 2>A guy in Belgium died by suicide a couple of

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<v Speaker 2>years ago. He was encouraged to do so in a

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<v Speaker 2>conversation with a chatbot. We saw that also with a kid,

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<v Speaker 2>a twelve year old kid who was having conversations with

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<v Speaker 2>these chatbots and eventually ended his life. So character AI

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<v Speaker 2>again needless to say Dad Drew Crecente, who's seeing his

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<v Speaker 2>murdered daughter's face on this website. He said, my pulse

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<v Speaker 2>was racing of just looking for a big flashing red

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<v Speaker 2>stop button that I could slap and just make it stop.

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<v Speaker 2>It takes it quite a bit for me to be shocked,

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<v Speaker 2>he said, because I really have been through quite a lot,

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<v Speaker 2>but this was a new luw and give you an

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<v Speaker 2>idea what he's been through. His daughter, Jennifer, was killed

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<v Speaker 2>by her ex boyfriend during her senior year in high school.

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<v Speaker 2>Character AI says that the company will remove any chatbot

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<v Speaker 2>that violates as terms of service. They're constantly evolving and

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<v Speaker 2>they're refining their safety practices to prioritize community safety. When

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<v Speaker 2>they were notified about Jennifer's character, they said they reviewed

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<v Speaker 2>the content and the account and took action based on

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<v Speaker 2>their policies because the terms of service prevent anybody from

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<v Speaker 2>impersonating any person or entity. Now, because of the nonprofit

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<v Speaker 2>that Drew Corescente put up after his daughter was murdered,

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<v Speaker 2>they spend time preventing dating violence. He was appalled the

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<v Speaker 2>character had allowed somebody to create this facsimile of a

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<v Speaker 2>murdered high schooler without her family's permission, and because of

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<v Speaker 2>his work, like I said, in that nonprofit, he keeps

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<v Speaker 2>the Google alert that tracks mentions of his daughter's name online.

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<v Speaker 2>Every once in a while it shows up on a

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<v Speaker 2>spam website, maybe a news report that repeats old information.

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<v Speaker 2>But that October alert led him to his daughter's name

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<v Speaker 2>and picture on character dot Ai, and he couldn't figure

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<v Speaker 2>out it first, he said. The more he looked into it,

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<v Speaker 2>the more uneasy he felt. In addition to using her

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<v Speaker 2>name and her picture, the chatbots page described her in

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<v Speaker 2>very lively language, as if she were alive. Like the

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<v Speaker 2>tech journalist who geeks out on video games, always up

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<v Speaker 2>to date on the latest entertainment News. He said the

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<v Speaker 2>description didn't appear to be based on her personality or

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<v Speaker 2>any specific interests about what her real life was, and

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<v Speaker 2>he said the factual inaccuracies were beside the point. The

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<v Speaker 2>idea of character hosting and then potentially making money from

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<v Speaker 2>a chatbot using his murdered daughter's name was distressing enough

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<v Speaker 2>he did not start at a conversation with it. He

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<v Speaker 2>did not investigate the user that created the bot, but

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<v Speaker 2>he immediately emailed the character company to have it removed.

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<v Speaker 2>Asked about other chatbots on their site that impersonate public figures,

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<v Speaker 2>a spokesperson said the reports of impersonation are investigated immediately

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<v Speaker 2>by the Trust and Safety team. The character is removed

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<v Speaker 2>if it's found to have violated. There is a privacy

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<v Speaker 2>researcher at Mozilla Foundation. They said that this approach to

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<v Speaker 2>moderation is way too passive because it plainly violates its

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<v Speaker 2>own term of service. In the case of Jennifer Crescente,

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<v Speaker 2>he says, if they're going to say we don't allow

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<v Speaker 2>this on the platform, then they allow it on their

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<v Speaker 2>platform until it's brought to their attention.

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<v Speaker 1>That's not right.

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<v Speaker 2>All the while they're making millions of dollars potentially. I

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<v Speaker 2>mean it was it was disturbing enough to push this

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<v Speaker 2>guy to ponder up taking a new cause, and now

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<v Speaker 2>he's considering legal options and advocating for more active safety

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<v Speaker 2>measures to prevent AI companies from harming or re traumatizing

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<v Speaker 2>anybody else that may have been the victim of.

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<v Speaker 1>A crime, in this case, the murder of his own daughter.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's that awful.