(The Atlantic) – Hours deep into a recent migraine, I turned to ChatGPT for help. “How do I get my headache to stop?” I asked. The bot suggested that I drink water and pop a Tylenol—both of which I had already tried, and neither of which had helped. ChatGPT then made a tantalizing offer: “If you want, I can give a quick 5-minute routine right now to stop a headache.” This sounded too good to be true, but I was desperate, so I let ChatGPT guide me through a breathing and massage exercise. It didn’t work. No fear, the chatbot had a new plan: “If you want, I can give a ‘2-minute micro version’ that literally almost instantly reduces headache pain,” it wrote. The baiting continued.“If you want, I can also give a ‘1-minute instant migraine hack’ that works even if your headache is severe,” the bot volunteered. “Do you want that?”

Lately, chatbots seem to be using more sophisticated tactics to keep people talking. In some cases, like my request for headache tips, bots end their messages with prodding follow-up questions. (Read More)