Authorities in the US state of Florida have launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI and its chatbot ChatGPT following a deadly shooting at Florida State University last year.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the probe on Tuesday, saying the investigation would examine whether OpenAI bears criminal responsibility for the incident, which left two people dead and six others injured.
A gunman carried out the attack in April last year before being shot by officers and hospitalised. The suspect has since been charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder.
Speaking at a press briefing, Uthmeier alleged that the chatbot provided guidance to the attacker.
“The chatbot advised the shooter on what type of gun to use, on which ammo went with which gun, on whether or not a gun would be useful at short range,” he said.
“If it was a person on the other end of that screen, we would be charging them with murder.”
Uthmeier’s office said the probe would determine whether “OpenAI bears criminal responsibility for ChatGPT’s actions in the shooting,” adding that the Office of Statewide Prosecution had issued a subpoena for company records.
The case highlights growing concerns over the risks associated with artificial intelligence, including fears that such technologies could be used to plan criminal activities, disrupt democratic processes, or fuel fraud.
In response, an OpenAI spokeswoman told US media the company was not responsible for the attack, describing the incident as a tragedy.
She said that after learning of the shooting, OpenAI identified a ChatGPT account believed to be linked to the suspect and “proactively shared this information with law enforcement.”
“In this case, ChatGPT provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found broadly across public sources on the internet, and it did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity,” the spokeswoman said.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
Follow us on:
