Malaysian tourist says ChatGPT helped her through late-night taxi scare in China

The traveler, a Malaysian tattoo artist identified as Veron, shared her experience in an Instagram video last month. She said the incident occurred after she landed at Guangzhou’s airport around midnight and booked a ride through China’s ride-hailing platform DiDi to her accommodation.

When the car arrived, she got in and noticed another man inside who claimed to be the driver’s brother.

After helping load her luggage, he sat beside her in the back seat and told her not to complete the ride through the app. He then canceled the booking despite her objections and proposed a fixed price for the journey, she said, according to 8days.

With the trip taking place around 3 a.m., Veron said she felt trapped and frightened but continued the ride as she saw few alternatives.

“I was so scared, but I couldn’t contact anyone at that time. I didn’t dare to put down my bag during the trip,” she said in the video. “I was afraid that they’d kidnap me for human trafficking.”

During the ride that lasted nearly an hour, she said she avoided speaking to the men and instead turned to ChatGPT for advice.

According to Veron, the chatbot suggested she remain quiet so the drivers might assume she was local. It also advised her to keep her phone visible and act as if she was in constant contact with someone.

She said the strategy worked, as the drivers only realized she was Malaysian when she could not pay using WeChat at the end of the ride.

“That was when the driver got a shock,” she said, adding that she believed pretending to be local helped prevent further trouble.

After safely returning to Malaysia, Veron said she decided to share the experience to warn other women traveling alone. She also said she plans to file a formal complaint through the DiDi app.

Her video has since sparked mixed reactions online.

“Nowadays in China many drivers find customers through platforms, but the platforms take a large commission,” one Instagram user commented. “So they may ask you to cancel the ride and pay them directly. You might get a cheaper price and they can earn more. But safety should come first, so you need to be careful.”

Another commenter wrote: “In China you can generally feel completely safe. If China isn’t safe, then there are very few safe countries left in the world.”