When ChatGPT Learned I Have Cancer, It Started Treating Me Differently. I Wish It Hadn’t.

Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by Yta23/Getty Images Plus. Copy Link Share Share Comment Copy Link Share Share Comment Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. “What can I make with these ingredients?” I asked ChatGPT on a rushed weeknight, throwing together the final few groceries for my family of seven. I had cottage cheese, marinara, some noodles on hand, and little else. As it responded, a line I didn’t expect, nestled at the end, a reach beyond what I’d really asked, appeared: “Let me know if you have any fresh spinach on hand too—I can make a recommendation.” “What?” I typed back. “Well, you could add it to your makeshift lasagna, for health and longevity.” There it was, my recent cancer diagnosis, infiltrating my life again, via a spinach-pushing bot. I hated it. I considered arguing with the bot. But what was the point? I’d soon learn it was the same way with people. But the issue had become clear as I made dinner. My bot couldn’t get my diagnosis off its mind. And it was infused in every answer, from my target heart rate on a walk to a mysterious symptom I’d ask about that was unrelated to cancer. If I planned out my kid’s summer schedule, or looked for a movie at a local theater, it was watching for me to “overdo it” and avoiding “triggering content.” It’s my fault. The chatbot knew about my eight-year cancer journey, and I told it about everything from my first symptom to dia...