James ‘Weston’ Higginbotham’s mom claimed that she and her son had an argument over her use of ChatGPT on their vacation before he vanished and later died.

Updated on: Jun 07, 2026 1:27 PM IST

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The mother of Auburn University student James ‘Weston’ Higginbotham, 20, claimed that she and her son had an argument over her use of ChatGPT on their vacation before he vanished. Search-and-rescue volunteers in Japan found James’ body days after he went missing.

James ‘Weston’ Higginbotham's mom says they argued about her ChatGPT use before his death (Nancy Higginbotham/Facebook)
James ‘Weston’ Higginbotham’s mom says they argued about her ChatGPT use before his death (Nancy Higginbotham/Facebook)

James’ mother, Nancy Higginbotham, told CBS news that the use of ChatGPT was “a sore subject” between her and her son, who was a passionate naturalist.

“I was using a little bit too much ChatGPT. Japan is a country that I’ve had a hard time navigating,” she said. “Weston is very anti-AI because you know he’s into sustainability engineering and AI uses a lot of water and is depleting a lot of water resources.”

James ‘Weston’ Higginbotham’s disappearance and death

James went missing on May 29 after leaving his parents and brother, to explore Kyoto on his own. He had had an argument with his mother over her use of ChatGPT to navigate their trip.

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James’ parents used the Life360 app to track his location and saw him getting on a train and visiting various stores. They texted him to ask where he was going, but his location was soon turned off, which his mother said was out of character for him.

James was last seen on CCTV footage walking alone in the city’s Yamashina area. That path led to a hiking trail in the nearby woods, according to CNN.

Police decided to search the forest on June 2 considering the camera’s location and James’ love for hiking. However, a storm that brought wind and heavy rain to the region that night disrupted their search efforts. More than 100 police officers, K-9s and helicopters were involved in the search.