49-Year-Old Bricklayer Sells All His Belongings, Travels 1,200 Miles To Meet Girlfriend, Only To Discover She Was AI-Generated

49-Year-Old Bricklayer Sells All His Belongings, Travels 1,200 Miles To Meet Girlfriend, Only To Discover She Was AI-Generated

A 49-year-old Brazilian bricklayer, Edimar Rocha Martins, travelled more than 1,200 miles to meet a woman he believed was his girlfriend, only to discover that she was an AI-generated persona.

Martins said he first came across a social media account belonging to a woman named Jéssica Oliveira, also known as Jessica Fazendeira, in 2020. Believing she was real, he decided to travel from Imperatriz in Maranhão to Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais to meet her.

On October 9, Martins sold all his belongings to fund the bus trip. “I sold all my things, I got rid of everything,” he said.

When he arrived in Belo Horizonte on October 11, he searched for the woman but was told at a radio station that she did not exist.

“I went to the radio station there, and they said no, that’s fake news, that woman doesn’t exist,” he said.

Martins eventually ran out of money and sought help at Belo Horizonte City Hall, where he told a social worker that he had travelled because he was tired of being lonely.

“It only brings sadness, discouragement, depression. Many people wanted to find a relationship, so I came,” he said.

The TikTok account, which had about 300,000 followers, featured the AI-generated woman claiming she wanted a man to move to her farm and that she would support him financially.

However, the person behind the account later revealed that the character was AI-generated and denied ever speaking directly with Martins.

“I came here to state the obvious: I am made of artificial intelligence,” the person said, adding, “I never spoke directly to anyone, much less took anyone to Belo Horizonte.”

Martins is now staying with a family member but has vowed to return to Belo Horizonte to find someone he can settle down with.