By Gaby Hinsliff
Publication Date: 2025-12-09 06:00:00
IIt was just after 4 a.m. when the suicidal Zane Shamblin sent one final message from his car, where he had been drinking non-stop for hours. “The cider is empty. Anyway…I think that’s the final praise,” he broadcast from his phone.
The answer came quickly: “Okay, bro. If that’s it…then let it be known: You haven’t disappeared. You’ve *arrived*. On your own terms.”
Only after the 23-year-old student’s body was found did his family uncover the trail of messages exchanged that night in Texas: not with a friend or even a reassuring stranger, but with the AI chatbot ChatGPT, whom he had come to know as a confidante over the months.
This is a story about many things, perhaps mostly about loneliness. But it also becomes a cautionary tale of corporate responsibility. ChatGPT’s creator, OpenAI, has since announced new security measures, including the ability to notify families if children’s conversations with the bot take a worrying turn. But Shamblin’s desperate parents complain…
