An elderly 77-year-old man has garnered instant fame on the internet because of his unique use of ChatGPT while traveling in a flight where a fellow passenger observed that he referred to the AI chatbot as “sir” in his messages.
The man has been identified as VBR Prasad, who hails from Hyderabad and is busy preparing a business proposal for his farm project. A picture along with the conversation was uploaded on the X handle @theteknosaur, which has already garnered more than 3 million hits.
Why A 77-Year-Old Man’s ChatGPT Messages Went Viral
The unusual part was not simply that Prasad was using AI at 77. It was the way he was communicating with it. In one exchange, Prasad addressed ChatGPT as “sir” three times in just three sentences.
77 year old grandpa on my flight was cooking up a vertical farming business plan w/ ChatGPT until takeoff. and he calls the AI “sir” 😭 the respect!!
we yapped the whole flight, now we’re besties. this man is more locked in than all of us pic.twitter.com/upRjJhRr9f
— teknosaur (@theteknosaur) September 29, 2026
“Oh wonderful guidance sir. Thanks a lot and I will come back to you sir. Let me download both the files sir,” he wrote in the conversation shared online.
For the passenger who noticed him, the combination of Prasad’s age, his intense focus on the business idea and his old-school politeness towards an AI chatbot was enough to turn an otherwise ordinary flight encounter into a viral moment. The passenger wrote that Prasad was “cooking up” a vertical farming business plan with ChatGPT before takeoff and joked about his remarkable level of focus. The two passengers also ended up talking throughout the flight and became friends.
What Was He Using ChatGPT For?
Prasad was not simply experimenting with the chatbot. He was using ChatGPT to develop ideas for a vertical farming business. Vertical farming involves growing crops in stacked layers, generally in controlled environments, allowing agricultural production in relatively limited spaces.
The detail adds another layer to the viral story: while social media focused on his repeated use of “sir”, the original interaction showed a 77-year-old actively using an AI tool to work through a new business idea.
From Flight Conversation To 3 Million Views
The passenger who witnessed Prasad’s chat with ChatGPT had posted an image of Prasad along with the story on September 29. It soon went viral on X, with the original post getting over 3 million views. People’s reactions varied from humor about how Prasad’s politeness could help him survive in case of an artificial intelligence invasion to gratitude for embracing new technologies.
Users also paid attention to the generation part of the story, as Prasad’s usage of ChatGPT proved that younger generations do not monopolize the embracement of new technologies.
77-Year-Old Prasad Responds To The Attention
With the ongoing viral cycle of the post, Prasad himself chimed in on X. Acknowledging the responses to his original tweet, he noted that he was pleased by how much recognition the exchange had gotten him. He also provided his own reflection on the matter, stating that it is ultimately up to people to use AI for the benefit of humankind.
The above reply puts the viral tale slightly aside from the humor of addressing the AI as “sir”. The whole thing, which started off with an outsider recognizing an amusing chat between an AI and a passenger on a plane, turned into a short example of how people of different generations adjust to AI technology – with Prasad’s business idea, interest and famous politeness being all a part of it.
Sunny Singh is a Journalist and Content Writer with a strong affinity for Bollywood and Hollywood insiders, music and more. Somewhat of a writer and poet himself, he thrives on giving life to words and deliver all you need to know about the entertainment sector.
