Dear Sangita: My mom has become addicted to using ChatGPT as her own “therapist.” She uses it to validate her opinions when she’s telling me or my siblings to do something or to prove what she expects of us is fair. She doesn’t seem to understand that these tools are just going to give her exactly what she wants. It’s not a real therapist or a real person! She doesn’t know how to think for herself anymore. What do I do? — Mom vs. machine
Dear Mom vs. machine: I think your mom needs to be more confident in her parenting decisions. You and your siblings are right. She can’t be using ChatGPT to confirm her theories or prove her points. She knows her kids best, not AI. Every kid is different, so for her to get validation from a robot on the right way to parent, it’s just not right. I think you and your siblings can have fun with it and take what she’s done back to ChatGPT. Ask it: “What’s the best way to approach this situation?” It’s going to do the same thing it does for your mom — act as an echo chamber, telling you what you want to hear. Show it to your mom; it may be the wake-up call she needs to realize: “What the hell am I doing?”
Dear Sangita: My friend just started a new business, but I have no interest in supporting it. She is constantly launching a new idea and then abandoning it when it doesn’t do well. Through it all, she always expects her friends to basically fund her new venture for her. I can’t do it anymore! How do I break it to her that I’m done being her personal bank? — Human ATM
Dear Human ATM: It sounds like not only is your friend asking you to invest in her ventures, she’s also not paying you back. You can say to her: “I believe in you and I believe in what you’re doing, but here’s a list of all the ideas I’ve invested in, and I’ve never received anything in return — not even gratitude.” Your friend needs to realize that if you keep asking friends for money in this way, they’ll start to feel like they’re being used. Lay it all out on the table and have a transparent conversation about how this dynamic makes you feel while still showing her that you care about her and her success.
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