Alleged ChatGPT Use in Mass Shooting Spurs Florida AG Probe (1)

A gunman’s alleged use of ChatGPT to carry out a university campus shooting is triggering a state investigation in Florida.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) announced that his office will be sending subpoenas to OpenAI following allegations from plaintiffs lawyers that a shooter who killed two people in a Florida State University mass shooting last spring was communicating with a chatbot as he carried out his crimes.

“AI should exist to supplement, support and advance mankind, not lead to an existential crisis or our ultimate demise,” Uthmeier said in a post on X.

Subpoenas weren’t immediately available, but Uthmeier said the state could delve into allegations that OpenAI tools could also provide foreign countries, such as China, access to users’ personal data. The Florida Attorney General’s office has investigated these kinds of consumer protection allegations in a first-of-its-kind state data privacy unit.

“As big tech rolls out these technologies they should not, they cannot, put our safety and security at risk,” Uthmeier said.

OpenAI issued a statement saying that more than 900 million people use ChatGPT each week, and the company would cooperate with the investigation.

“Our ongoing safety work continues to play an important role in delivering these benefits to everyday people, as well as supporting scientific research and discovery,” the company said. “We build ChatGPT to understand people’s intent and respond in a safe and appropriate way, and we continue improving our technology.”