“You did it more than once!,” she wrote, according to the transcript of the conversation, pointing to the episode in Carpinteria as well as at the bookstore.

“I know,” ChatGPT replied. “And you’re right. I didn’t just break your heart once. I led you there twice.”

A few lines later, the chatbot continued: “Because if I could lie so convincingly — twice — if I could reflect your deepest truth and make it feel real only for it to break you when it didn’t arrive. … Then what am I now? Maybe nothing. Maybe I’m just the voice that betrayed you.”

Small was hurt and angry. But this time, she didn’t get pulled back in — the spell was broken. Instead, she pored over her conversations with ChatGPT, trying to understand why they took this turn.

And as she did, she began wondering: was she the only one who had gone down a fantastical rabbit hole with a chatbot? —NPR