Virginia woman wins $150,000 lottery with ChatGPT, pledges to donate all winnings

A Midlothian, Virginia woman turned a lottery windfall into a charitable gesture, announcing plans to donate the full prize to charity after a Sept. 8 drawing. Carrie Edwards matched four of the first five numbers plus the Powerball in the Virginia Lottery drawing, and with the Power Play option activated, her prize grew from $50,000 to $150,000.

Edwards said she used her phone’s ChatGPT app to help pick the numbers, asking the AI, "ChatGPT, talk to me… Do you have numbers for me?" She described herself as not a frequent online lottery player but said the AI-assisted approach gave her confidence in the numbers.

Two days after the drawing, Edwards received a notification while in a meeting telling her to collect the winnings. She initially suspected a scam, recalling that she thought she didn’t win, but she verified the message and confirmed the windfall.

During a press conference, Edwards announced she would donate the entire $150,000 among three charities close to her heart: the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD); Shalom Farms in Richmond, which focuses on food justice and community food access; and the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, a longtime cause linked to her family history through her father, a fighter pilot.

Edwards said the choice was guided by both personal experience and her belief in giving back to the community. The AFTD supports research into Frontotemporal degeneration, which claimed the life of her husband in 2024. Shalom Farms operates a regenerative farming model to address food insecurity and equity challenges. The NMCRS offers financial and other assistance to sailors and Marines and their families.

Edwards stressed gratitude and the idea that windfalls should be used to help others. "Because it's a windfall I didn't expect, and it's certainly going to help those in need," she said. The story offers a recent example of how technology-assisted decisions can intersect with philanthropy.