This person was playing chess while the authorities were playing checkers.
Millie Houlton found herself with a $74 parking ticket from cops even though she had a permit to park at that location. Instead of paying the fine, the 22-year-old student at York St John University in England decided to write a letter to the authorities to overturn the decision.
Instead of adding more work to her growing list of tasks thanks to academia, Houlton decided to turn to ChatGPT. "Please help me write a letter to the council, they gave me a parking ticket," she instructed the AI, as quoted by the BBC.
She found it difficult to articulate what she wanted to say, especially if there was a slim chance that the sluggish bureaucratic process will get back to her in a reasonable time frame. She went to ChatGPT to see if it can do the tedious task for her. "I put in all my details about where and when it happened, why it was wrong and my reference for the fine and it came back with this perfectly formed personalized response within minutes," she shared.
She got the letter from the AI and submitted it to the city council. Surprisingly, the tide turned in her favor and her parking ticket was resolved. We wonder if the authorities will rescind that decision after her story is published.
Image credit: Caspar Rae/Unsplash