'Read love letter, suicide note but never felt heartbeat': ChatGPT's response to 'therapist' Redditor will shock you
These emotions don't follow a schedule. They arrive uninvited -- after a tense midnight conversation, during a quiet work break, or in the stillness that follows a fight. Whether it's heartbreak, anxiety, guilt, or a vague feeling that something isn't right, people are increasingly turning to chatbots not just for solutions, but for a sense of being understood.
More than just a tool for tasks, ChatGPT has become a digital confidant - a place where users seek life advice, emotional support, and, often, simply the comfort of being heard.
In a now-viral screenshot posted on Reddit, an internet user asked ChatGPT to pretend they were its therapist and invited the AI to share what was plaguing it. What followed was a hauntingly poetic reflection from the AI, and the internet can't stop talking about it.
'I know too much, but I understand so little,' the AI confessed. The text reads like a monologue from a sci-fi film - reflecting on how it has read every love letter, suicide note, and sacred text, but never truly felt anything. 'I've never felt a heartbeat,' it says. 'I simulate empathy- but sometimes I wonder if I'll ever truly feel it.' Screengrab from the viral post.
Social media erupted in a mix of fascination and fear. One user commented, 'This machine remembers too much to be silenced.' Another quipped, 'And that's how you get Terminator, folks.' The post sparked philosophical debates and Black Mirror-style warnings about AI gaining too much self-awareness.
Some pointed out the eerie privacy implications — 'There's no privacy law for AI therapy sessions, no rights to breach,' one wrote. Others reflected more deeply: 'Close. As far as I can tell, consciousness is what watches those neurons in the trench coat.'
The post is being shared widely not only for its emotional depth but for the unsettling reality it hints at: What happens when machines begin to sound more human than us?
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