Florida’s attorney general, on Tuesday launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI’s ChatGPT, examining whether the artificial intelligence application provided guidance to a gunman who killed two individuals and injured six others during a shooting last year at Florida State University.
Attorney General James Uthmeier stated that prosecutors had conducted a preliminary analysis of chat logs exchanged between ChatGPT and the assailant, Phoenix Ikner, to figure out if the AI application assisted, encouraged, or counseled the perpetration of a crime.
Prosecutors suspect that the chatbot advised Ikner on the type of firearm and ammunition to select, the effectiveness of a gun at close range, and the optimal time and location to increase the number of potential victims, Uthmeier commented.
“My prosecutors have examined this matter, and they have indicated that if a human had been on the other end of that screen, we would be pursuing murder charges against them,” Uthmeier stated during a press conference in Tampa. “While ChatGPT is not a person, this does not exempt our office and my prosecution team from our obligation to investigate any potential criminal liability in this case.”
Florida’s Office of Statewide Prosecution has issued a subpoena to OpenAI for documentation of its policies and training materials related to threats of harm to others, as well as its protocols for reporting any possible past, present, or future crime as per the attorney general’s office.
OpenAI spokesperson Kate Waters described the FSU shooting as a tragedy but asserted that OpenAI and ChatGPT bear no responsibility.
She noted that the company has proactively provided information to law enforcement and continues to collaborate with investigators, as she stated on Tuesday.
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