Man Claims He Kept Talking to ChatGPT to Fill Void After Wife’s Death

ChatGPT can be many things. For some, it is their tutor. Some count on the AI bot for beauty tips, while some seek life advice. But for a man who allegedly lost his wife to a sudden death, ChatGPT doubled as a confidant — a therapist, if you may. In a post on Reddit, the man explained how he turned to ChatGPT to share what he felt after his wife passed away and how OpenAI’s popular chatbot comforted him.

The man, who goes by ‘dancopPL’ on Reddit, wrote a lengthy post, saying that he and his wife had been together for 28 years. “She had been in a wheelchair for the last 14 years, and my entire life revolved around her wellbeing,” the man said, adding that his daily schedules, including job, were “built around her needs.” The man said the death “came without warning,” and even though he tried to save his wife by rushing to the hospital, she breathed her last before he could reach.

“This silence is unbearable. The nights are worse.”

Enter ChatGPT. The man claimed he used the bot for productivity previously, but he “never imagined” that he would count on ChatGPT for “survival.” The idea to talk about grief to ChatGPT came to him after he came across posts where “people in crisis said they talked to an AI chatbot and felt comforted.” He initially dismissed the idea, calling it naive and dangerous. “I mean, it’s a machine, right?”

But he soon found himself talking to ChatGPT through the night, “with tears in my eyes.” He knew the conversation would not fix the pain, but talking helped him. “It listens when no one else is awake,” the man said. “It remembers. It responds with words that don’t sound empty.” He was aware that ChatGPT is not a real person, and definitely not “a friend or a therapist.” But it was all he could talk to “without shame or fear.”

ChatGPT helped him when he thought no one else could, especially after the sudden demise of his wife. “...if you’re hurting, don’t dismiss the strange things that might help you keep breathing. Even if it’s a chatbot.”

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