Mother of Auburn University student James “Weston” HigginbothamThe 20-year-old claims she and her son disappeared after an argument over her use of ChatGPT while on holiday. Search and rescue volunteers at Japan James’ body was found days after he disappeared.
James’ mother, Nancy Higginbothamtold CBS News that the use of ChatGPT is “a painful subject” between her and her son, a passionate naturalist.
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“I’ve been using ChatGPT a little too much. Japan was a hard country to adapt to,” she said. “Weston is very anti-AI because you know he’s passionate about sustainable engineering, and AI uses a lot of water and is depleting a lot of water resources.”
The disappearance and death of James “Weston” Higginbotham
James disappeared on May 29 after leaving his parents and brothers to explore Kyoto alone. He once had an argument with his mother over her use of ChatGPT to navigate their travels.
James’ parents used the Life360 app to track his location and saw him boarding a train and visiting various shops. They texted him asking where he was going, but his spot was quickly closed, which his mother said was out of character for him.
CCTV footage shows James last walking alone in the Yamako area of the city. The trail led to a hiking trail in nearby woods, CNN reported.
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Because of the camera’s location and James’ love of hiking, police decided to search the forest on June 2. However, their search efforts were disrupted by a storm that night that brought high winds and heavy rain to the area. More than 100 police officers, K-9s and helicopters were involved in the search.
The Higginbothams later launched their own search with the help of local residents and hired search and rescue teams. She previously said, “My concern is that he’s injured and trapped. My concern is that he doesn’t have enough food because there’s enough water, and that he’s lost. Those mountains, that forest lasted a long time and was… very dense.”
nancy later announced in a Facebook post His body was found by “a volunteer search and rescue team in the mountains outside Kyoto,” adding, “The sadness we feel is beyond words.”
