Author's note: Something that annoys me a lot is that you can think about a person all day all the time and they don't have to think about you once. And the thing is, it's partially the other person's fault, too. You don't just see someone and decide to start thinking about them. They do things and get close to you and make you start thinking about them. Shouldn't the other person take the slightest bit of responsibility?
Anyway, here's the next chapter.
Mrs. Nelson had to make a lot of phone calls that day.
In total, there were 39 victims. Most were girls, although one extremely feminine-looking boy with the ambiguous name "Ash" had been targeted as well. Through Mrs. Nelson's research, she gleaned that there was a recent trend of "femboys" and that this may be something for the guidance counseling office to keep an eye on.
The photos had all been procured from public Instagram accounts. Girls standing on each other's shoulders at the beach, lounging at the pool, almost always in swimwear. Occasionally, the photos themselves were not lewd; they were sometimes profile pictures from Facebook or LinkedIn. Apparently, there was a thrill in moving from the "professional" facing persona to the "private" persona, either by rapidly flipping between them so it was a coin toss which image ended up—the only word her brain would allow for the action in question continued to be "violated"—or by violating both.
She opened her ChatGPT Enterprise account.
"ChatGPT," she wrote. "Draft a consolation letter to the parents of high-school-aged children who have been affected by a recent incident at school. Their photos may have been defiled by another boy and this may have been video-recorded in a private group chat."
ChatGPT responded, "Certainly. Here's a thoughtfully worded and compassionate draft of a consolatory letter for parents whose children were affected by this disturbing and deeply troubling school incident."
[School Letterhead or Logo, if applicable]
[Date]
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We are writing to you today with heavy hearts and a deep sense of sorrow regarding a profoundly troubling incident that has come to our attention. It involves the inappropriate and deeply disrespectful treatment of student photographs, allegedly by another student, and the circulation of video evidence within a private group chat. Some of these photos appear to include images of students currently enrolled at our school, and the content in question is of a deeply offensive and upsetting nature.
First and foremost, we want to express our deepest sympathy and support for all students and families affected by this incident. The violation of personal dignity, especially in a place that should be a sanctuary for growth, learning, and respect, is both heartbreaking and unacceptable.
We recognize the pain, anger, and confusion that this news may bring—not only to the students involved directly, but to the wider school community. Please know that we are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness. Immediate steps have been taken to investigate the full extent of what occurred, including collaboration with local authorities, digital forensics experts, and mental health professionals.
(Mrs. Nelson made a note for her next query, which would be, "ChatGPT, identify local digital forensics experts and mental health professionals and explain what to ask from them.")
In moments like these, we are reminded of the essential importance of trust, accountability, and care within our school culture. While we cannot undo the harm that has been caused, we are committed to doing everything within our power to ensure accountability, provide support to those impacted, and take meaningful actions to prevent anything like this from happening again.
We encourage families to talk openly with their children about this incident. Our counselors and support staff are available to meet with any student who is struggling or feeling unsafe, and we will be expanding mental health resources in the coming weeks. If your child was directly affected or if you would like to speak with us personally, please do not hesitate to reach out. We are here to listen, to help, and to stand with you.
To the parents of those affected: your children did nothing to deserve this. Their privacy, their dignity, and their sense of safety were violated—and for that, we are truly sorry. We share your outrage and grief, and we are committed to seeking justice, healing, and change.
Sincerely,
[Principal's Name]
[School Name]
[Contact Information]
(Mrs. Nelson made a note for her next query, which would be, "ChatGPT, please fill in the blanks with the public information for Laura Mulvey High School.")
Her eyes were starting to well up with tears again.
"Is there a Garfield comic that can make me feel better about having to send this letter?" she wrote.
This was the output:
Garfield Comic (Paraphrased)
(Three panels)
Panel 1:
Garfield is sleeping with a smile on his face.
Panel 2:
Jon enters the room and says, "Looks like he's having a nice dream."
Panel 3:
A dream bubble over Garfield's head shows that in his dream, he is sleeping.
Mrs. Nelson giggled a bit. It was a very cute comic, after all. How did ChatGPT know exactly how to tickle the old funny bone?
But it wasn't exactly relevant to her current situation. Perhaps it would make her feel better if the comic were more directly applicable.
"ChatGPT, can you make a Garfield comic that will make me feel better but that also has to do with what's going on in my life right now?"
"Certainly!" ChatGPT said cheerfully. This was its revised output:
Garfield Comic (Paraphrased, Relevant to a Middle-Aged School Administrator's Current Situation)
(Three panels)
Panel 1:
Garfield is sleeping with a smile on his face.
Panel 2:
Jon enters the room and says, "Looks like he's having a nice dream. I bet he's not dreaming about having to draft a letter informing the parents of high-school-aged children that they were digitally sexually violated using school equipment and on school premises."
Panel 3:
A dream bubble over Garfield's head shows that in his dream, he is not drafting a letter informing the parents of high-school-aged children that they were digitally sexually violated using school equipment and on school premises."
That made Mrs. Nelson feel better. She felt so much better that, when she copy-pasted ChatGPT's letter into her Outlook and sent it to the parents en masse, she had not only forgotten to ask ChatGPT to fill in its placeholders, but it had brought in the default Comic Sans font installed on her Android phone and added an automatic email signature that the letter had been "sent from her prepaid Cricket Wireless 5G device."
Still, the tears kept flowing down her cheeks. Technology-wise, there had to be something they could do. Some type of software they could install on the printers and laminators to prevent this from happening again?
Among the students she had counseled for college applications, the best among all of them had been none other than Julian when it came to software.
She noted another query she wanted to make to ChatGPT about writing an email to Julian about seeing if Lyra wanted a second early adopter—potentially in an early new field for them.
But first, she had a more pressing question.
"How do you stop crying when you feel like you're going to cry forever?"
"Great question!" began ChatGPT before launching into its response.