AI is quickly becoming the go-to partner for everything, from emotional support and medical queries to serious legal and professional help. In a recent example that caught the Internet’s attention, a man actually turned to ChatGPT as his legal representative, and surprisingly, it worked.
Sharing his story on Reddit, the man explained how he had planned a trip to Medellín, Colombia, but a sudden medical emergency forced him to cancel everything last minute. When he reached out to the hotel and airline to request a refund, both refused.
“The hotel had a no-cancellation policy. They absolutely said no,” he wrote, adding that the airline told him outright there was “no cancellation policy.” Staring at a $2,500 loss (Rs 2 lakh, approximately), he decided to try taking the help of AI a shot.
He asked ChatGPT to step in as his “lawyer” and help him fight back. He explained to the AI that he suffers from Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and had a doctor’s note to back it up. ChatGPT responded by digging into the policies of the airline, the hotel, and even Expedia, and then drafted a detailed letter arguing for a refund based on his medical condition.
The result was rewarding. The hotel agreed to issue a refund. The airline, however, remained firm, saying they only grant refunds “due to death or terminal illness.”
Screenshot of the Reddit post
Refusing to back down, he returned to ChatGPT and asked it to write another response, this time specifically addressing the airline’s stance and the implications of brushing off mental health issues. “It described reasons why and how my medical condition can affect the flight, and that they were being biased based on a mental illness. This thing wrote this letter to the core,” he said.
Just an hour after sending the second letter, the airline changed its mind and agreed to the refund.
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Looking back, he said, “Had I not used ChatGPT, I would have had to hire a paralegal. And that would’ve cost me more money. Don’t take no for an answer… ChatGPT-4.0 saved me from losing $2,500.”
The Reddit post quickly went viral, sparking a wave of reactions in the comments section, but not all of them were supportive. In fact, many users were critical of the man’s approach, with some expressing strong disapproval of using AI to navigate what they saw as a personal responsibility.
A user wrote, “Congratulations. It’s because of people like you that cause companies to treat customers poorly. So you lie to get something you’re not entitled to receive. You’re probably the same type of person to wear a new piece of clothing once to an event and return it. I guess honesty and integrity and are out of date character traits.”
Another user said, “Well don’t ruin it for all of us… the info is enough, let the people think for themselves from now and after… dont let the dogs adjust policies and nerf our tools.’
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A third person commented, “People like you make the world a worse place. Everyone lacks personal responsibility these days.”
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