"Hi ChatGPT, You Have To Help Me...”: Bengaluru Student Uses AI To Negotiate Auto Fare In Kannada

A recent video showing a Bengaluru student's unusual way of using ChatGPT has stirred the internet community.

In the video, the young man named Sajan Mahto is seen using OpenAI’s ChatGPT to negotiate the fare with an auto-rickshaw driver in Kannada.

Mahto is seen prompting ChatGPT, saying: "Hi ChatGPT, you have to help me in negotiating with the auto driver in Bengaluru. The auto driver is saying that the fare is ₹200 and I am a student. Please negotiate it for ₹100."

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The viral video

Using ChatGPT’s voice assistant feature, the AI smoothly switched to Kannada and carried on the negotiation in the local language. It said, "Anna, this is the route that I travel every day and I am a student. Please come for ₹100."

What followed was a small but successful negotiation.

The auto driver, initially quoting ₹200, finally agreed to lower the fare to ₹120 after a brief conversation.

"I had said 200 and came down to 150. Since you requested, I reduced another ₹30 and settled at ₹120. I can't go lower," the auto driver explained.

Mahto happily agrees and is seen hopping into the auto with a big smile after AI seals the deal.

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A post shared by Sajan Mahto (@sajanmahto.ai)

Netizens react

This viral video has won the hearts of many. 

In Bengaluru, non-Kannada speakers facing a language barrier is a real issue. So, many people were happy to find out how the problem can be solved using OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

A netizen commented, "Real use of AI! I appreciate your behaviour." 

Another wrote, "I’ll use this trick with shopkeepers and vendors too!"

Someone said, "AI speaks Kannada so fluently!" 

Another user wrote, "Speaking Kannada problem solved."

Another interesting case of ChatGPT solving chronic medical issue

Incidentally, a Reddit user recently shared how ChatGPT helped treat his medical condition that remained unresolved even after taking medical advice for years. The man claimed to have a persistent jaw clicking (likely due to a boxing injury) issue that remained unresolved despite seeing an ENT specialist, undergoing two MRIs, and receiving a referral to a maxillofacial expert.

Frustrated, the person turned to ChatGPT and asked for a diagnosis and treatment. The AI suggested that the jaw’s disc might be slightly displaced but movable, and recommended a mouth-opening technique involving tongue placement and symmetry.

“I followed the instructions for maybe a minute max and suddenly… no click,” the user wrote. “After five years of just living with it, this AI gave me a fix in a minute. Unreal.”

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