FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Local depressed man Matthew Watkins reportedly used AI chatbot ChatGPT to write his suicide note, according to worried friends and family members.
“Hello ChatGPT. Write me a letter to say goodbye to the people in my life and that explains why I want to end it all, which is due to a combination of depression and several problems in my life all arising at once,” Watkins reportedly wrote to the AI before it spit out 400 words cobbled together from sample suicide notes it found on Google. “I want to say goodbye. But I am not a very good writer. Thank you for help.”
According to close sources, upon finding the note, Watkins’ loved ones were deeply concerned and immediately reached out to him to urge him against self-harm. Watkins’ ex-wife Lucy Rowe reportedly sent him a lengthy message on Instagram telling him how important he is to her.
“Matthew, we all love you so much and need you to stick around. Please don’t do anything rash. I know things have been really tough — and I understand losing your writing job to AI has been a devastating blow — but please just call me, we can talk this through,” said Rowe’s heartfelt message, also generated using ChatGPT. “I really hope you see this. I still love you, Matthew. Regenerate response?”
The suicide note, which was posted to social media along with a grisly blood-soaked image of Watkins, was quickly discovered to have been created by Midjourney after loved ones realized each hand tightly gripping a large knife had nine fingers.
“It’s incredibly tough to see he’s hurting, and I hope he lets us help him get through this,” said Watkins’ friend Colin Miles. “Honestly, the fact that he wrote anything at all — and the fact that he asked for help, even if it’s from an AI — means that he’s still holding on. He’s a terrific guy and an even better writer, so the fact that he is resorting to ChatGPT to write anything at all is maybe the grimmest part of this all.”
At press time, Watkins was thankfully alive and safe at a nearby hospital after following instructions on how to kill himself that were described to him by an AI chatbot.
