Carrie Edwards, a widow and grandmother living in Midlothian, Virginia, made waves after winning $150,000 in a U.S. lottery. She achieved this after using ChatGPT to choose the winning numbers.
In the September 8th contest, she matched four of the first five numbers and also the Powerball. Because she had opted for the Power Play feature, the prize was tripled, exceeding R$800,000.
According to Carrie, the idea to take the plunge for the first time came during a meeting. She said she asked the virtual assistant: “ChatGPT, talk to me… do you have any numbers for me?”
The winning numbers were 26, 28, 41, 53, 64 and the Powerball was 9. When she received the prize notification, Carrie suspected it was a scam, but the official confirmation left her in shock.
Lottery prize donation
On September 16th, Carrie officially received the award and decided to donate it entirely to charitable causes. Therefore, the amount was divided equally between three organizations.
The first was the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD), chosen in memory of her husband who died from the disease. The second, Shalom Farms, works to combat food insecurity in local communities.
Finally, the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society received funding to support service members and their families in distress.
Carrie explained that she saw the award as an opportunity to give back to society. In her words: “I felt blessed, and I want this to be an example of how those who receive blessings can bless others.”
The Virginia resident’s actions sparked widespread attention precisely because they contradicted the common pattern. Typically, winners use the money for personal gain. In this case, donating the entire amount reinforced an example of altruism, with a direct impact on various sectors of the community.
