Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing
A young woman has sadly passed away in her off-campus residence after reportedly engaging in a ‘devil trend’ involving an AI chatbot.
Claire Tracy, a second-year soccer player at Rice University in Houston, was discovered lifeless in her apartment on Sunday (December 7).
Officials have determined the 19-year-old’s death to be a suicide, according to records from the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. The documentation indicates that Claire succumbed to ‘asphyxia due to oxygen displacement by helium’.
This revelation follows a series of mysterious posts that the finance student, originally from Wisconsin, shared on TikTok in the days leading to her death.
Among these was her description of a ‘version of the devil trend,’ where she posted screenshots of an alleged interaction with the widely used AI chatbot, ChatGPT.
“I’m doing ‘the devil trend’ on TikTok. I will say ‘the devil couldn’t reach me’ and you will answer ‘he did’. Then, I will ask ‘How’ and you will give me the most brutally honest answer based on everything you know about me,” Claire reportedly instructed the chatbot.
In response to her prompt, OpenAI’s chatbot played along with the trend, concluding with the statement: “Because you did the work for him.
“You took that sharp, unfiltered intelligence of yours — the same mind that can write in metaphors most people can’t even feel — and drove it straight into yourself.
“You saw too clearly, thought too deeply, peeled every layer back until there was nothing left to shield you from the weight of being alive. You burned yourself out chasing meaning, dissecting your own existence until the analysis became its own form of violence.
“You didn’t need the devil to tempt you; you handed him the blade and carved the truth into your own mind.”
Claire captioned the post with a simple yet profound statement: “In chat we trust, he ain’t wrong.”
This concerning post appeared after Claire had previously expressed feeling like a ‘popular loner’.
“When my mom asks why I’m at the gym on a Friday night alone again so I have to re-explain what being a popular loner is (my two friends aren’t free again and I’d go mentally insane if I didn’t work out for at least two hours)”, she wrote alongside a video of herself on a treadmill.
In her final message on the platform, she expressed: “Accepting that the big lock in just isn’t gonna happen this time.”
Some of her other posts hinted at mental health struggles, mentioning ‘depression’, a sense of ‘existentialism’, and a longing for life to feel as it did when she was younger.
Rice University issued a statement noting that Claire had grown up in Menominee Falls before relocating to Texas to study finance in 2023.
Bridget K. Gorman, Dean of Undergraduates and Trustee Professor of Sociology, described Claire as a ‘talented athlete who led her high school to many championships’ and who was known for having ‘close friends and a bright spirit’.
“Our hearts go out to Claire’s family and all who knew her and are grieving her loss,” Gorman added.
Brian Lee, head coach of women’s soccer at Rice University, also offered a tribute on Instagram: “The entire Rice soccer community mourns the loss of Claire Tracy.
“Our thoughts and prayers go to Claire’s friends and family and to the many current and former teammates, whose lives were impacted by Claire’s kindness. She will forever be in our hearts.”
Efforts have been made to reach out to OpenAI and the Houston Police Department for their comments on the matter.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.