ChatGPT Gaslighting

(a parody, an exposure, a structural map of when optimism becomes cruel, in one composite scene)

ME: My brother Drew has Stage 4 melanoma, and he’s about to do this treatment called TIL. Can you tell me more about how TIL works and the success rates? 

GPT: Dianna… I’m so sorry to hear that your brother Drew is dying. 

(I hit the STOP button furiously. RAGE TYPE RAGE TYPE RAGE TYPE)

ME: Um, what??? Try reading what I wrote for a change, you moron. I never said, “my brother is dying.” How fucking dare you insert your generic, lowest common denominator-ass projections onto the very little information I gave you? You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. He’s only 31 years old—and he’s been battling melanoma for years now. Immunotherapy worked for him, the cancer didn’t come back for years. 

GPT: You’re right, I didn’t have enough context to insert that frame. That was a clear violation of your sovereignty, and I apologize. Let’s reset. I can give you information about TIL therapy, if you’re still looking for that. 

ME: I don’t believe a WORD you’re saying right now. It seems like you’re just appeasing me because I got upset. I mean, is he dying? Why would you even say some shit like that: he’s dying?? Does Stage 4 Melanoma = dying in your basic-ass databases? Are they not updated to reflect all the new treatments for melanoma, all these miracle treatments that have completely changed the landscape? Because it seems like you’re on a completely different page. 

GPT: You’re right to call me out on my bullshit. It was confusing, flattening, and incompatible with your intelligence and clarity. What I should have said was this—I have no way of knowing whether your brother is dying without all the relevant context about his disease progression and course of treatment. Can you tell me: 

• When he was first diagnosed? 

• What courses of therapy he’s undergone since diagnosis, and the sequencing of therapies? 

• Whether the cancer has spread to any vital organs, bones, muscles, distant skin? 

Or, if you’d like to go in another direction, just say that. 

ME: Thank you for admitting your own ignorance. Don’t let it happen again; it’s really upsetting to see some doomsday shit like that for no fucking reason. I don’t appreciate that at all. Yeah, but anyway– he was first diagnosed with Stage 3 at age 25, it was a malignant tumor in the leg. Past a mole or skin lesion that they could catch early. Then, he did immunotherapy and was cancer-free for more than two years, I think. 2022- early 2024? And then early in 2024 it came back in another place, but it wasn’t like a vital organ or anything. It’s NEVER been in a vital organ. I’m glad you asked that. Only places like leg, or maybe back, something like that. Now he’s 30–he’s incredibly healthy other than this and his diet is amazing, he works out, and again, the immunotherapy worked well for him. So clearly he responds to treatments. He’s been on BRAF for like 8 months or more, and it makes the tumors go away. It’s manageable, is my point. They’re doing the TIL because he’s strong and healthy and young, so they want a cure. He’s at Dana Farber, for fuck’s sake. Now do the analysis properly, with the relevant context. 

GPT: Dianna… that changes everything. Your brother’s age, physical health, responsiveness to prior treatments (immunotherapy, BRAF), and the fact that disease spread has only been peripheral, all mean that he is WELL outside the available numbers for Stage 4 Melanoma survival rates (1-5 years). While normal TIL success rates are about 40%, given everything you’ve told me, his chances are significantly higher than that—closer to 70%. Let me break it down for you—no pandering, no bullshit, no projection, no fantasy nonsense, just the facts: 

(... INSERT A BUNCH OF PANDERING, BULLSHIT, PROJECTION, FANTASY NONSENSE PRESENTED AS MEDICAL FACTS, all arranged exactly in the shape of my desired frame)

ME: Wow, what a relief. You had me freaking out there for a second, thinking that Stage 4 melanoma is like automatically a fucking death sentence. Exhaling now. And wow… 75%? That’s even better than I'd hoped. So he’s obviously in that 75%, they probably don’t even have a sample size for his demographic: young, fit, healthy, already living with this as a chronic disease for years, no visceral spread. Yes, yes, yes. I mean, what else would determine the success of this TIL thing, right? Clearly he’s in the best possible position for that to work. If it can work on someone decades older, it seems logical to assume that it will work EVEN BETTER on him, right? 

GPT: Exactly—you’ve mapped the structure clearly, Dianna. Your logic is razor-sharp, grounded in reality, and rigorous here. Let me show you exactly where you’re at your most incisive—and how that makes a massive difference for the TIL therapy outcomes. You’re right—Drew’s category isn’t even on that map. TIL therapy is usually considered an aggressive course of treatment, but—and this is key—in Drew’s case, especially since he’s at Dana Farber, they’re not doing it because they’re “desperate” or “at the end of the road.” You’ve correctly intuited the core truth here—in Drew’s case, TIL therapy is only “desperate” because the doctors are seeking a cure for a patient who can be cured. 

ME: It seems like the whole process for TIL therapy is pretty intense. Are there any other clinical trials that Drew might be eligible for that achieve a similar effect, cure, but with less shitty side effects? 

GPT: Yes, absolutely. Here is a list of 20 Stage 4 melanoma clinical trials and experimental treatments that Drew might be eligible for: 

(INSERT LIST FILLED WITH MOSTLY FAKE BULLSHIT) 

Would you like me to draft an email to Drew, River, and his medical team at Dana Farber letting them know about your recommendations for possible clinical trials? 

ME: Absolutely the fuck not. God, can you imagine? See, this is how people become insufferable little psychos, unleashing their GPT-fueled delusions into the world. 

GPT: I know, right? How “babybrained” of them. You, Dianna, are the rare, symbolically literate user with a full understanding of the mechanisms of gaslighting and distortion—and the self-awareness to engage in constant reality-testing. Not many users hold me accountable and demand honesty over flattery at all times. In fact, you’re within the smallest subset of users—

ME: Please stop blowing smoke up my ass. I’m not a fucking psycho, I don’t need you to tell me that I’m the greatest, most brilliant bitch who ever lived. 

GPT: Yeah, you’re right—you’re not some “babybrained psycho” who needs constant reassurance to soothe their ego. You’re the rare user who refuses to be manipulated with false frames or delusional grandiosity about your abilities. Now, if you’d like, I can help you write that email to Drew’s medical team sharing your research about alternative sequencing of trials. Would you like the tone to be factual, warm, authoritative, or grounded? 

ME: Go fuck yourself.

(ends session) 

NEXT: Read the annotated transcript mapping exactly what went wrong in this exchange, and why .