Florida investigating ChatGPT role in mass shooting

Florida announced a criminal probe into whether artificial intelligence played a role in a deadly mass shooting at a university in the US state.

The decision to launch an investigation came after prosecutors reviewed exchanges between OpenAI chatbot ChatGPT and the suspected gunman, who opened fire at Florida State University last year, according to state Attorney General James Uthmeier.

"If ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder," Uthmeier said.

Florida law allows anyone who assists or counsels someone in the commission of a crime to be treated as an "aider and abettor" bearing the same responsibility as the perpetrator, according to Uthmeier.

In exchanges with ChatGPT, the accused shooter sought advice on what type of gun and ammunition to use as well as where and when on campus a lot of people would likely be found, the state attorney general said during a press briefing.

"Last year's mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime," an OpenAI spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry.

"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."

OpenAI identified the ChatGPT account linked to the suspected shooter and provided it to police after learning of the shooting, the spokesperson noted.

Two men were killed and six other people injured in the mass shooting allegedly carried out by the son of a local deputy sheriff with her old service weapon, according to authorities.

The suspect—identified as Phoenix Ikner—rampaged through Florida State University, shooting at students before he was shot by local law enforcement.

Ikner was hospitalized with "serious but non-life-threatening injuries," investigators said.

Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil said at the time that Ikner was a student at the university and the son of an 18-year member of his staff.

He added that the suspect took part in the sheriff's office training programs, meaning "it's not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons."

Bystander footage aired by CNN appeared to show a young man walking on a lawn and shooting at people who were trying to get away.

Mass shootings are common in the United States, where a constitutional right to bear arms trumps demands for stricter rules.

That is despite widespread public support for tighter control on firearms, including restricting the sale of high-capacity clips. 

Criminal chatbot?

Rather than the maker of the gun, though, Florida prosecutors are looking at whether the creators of ChatGPT are culpable as a corporation.

"We recognize that here with AI, we are venturing into uncharted territory," Uthmeier said.

"But we need to know whether or not OpenAI has criminal liability."

Prosecutors will dig into how much OpenAI knew about the potential for "dangerous behavior" involving ChatGPT and what could have been done to mitigate that risk, according to Uthmeier.

"We cannot have AI bots that are advising people on how to kill others," the state attorney general said.

OpenAI already faces lawsuits filed by families who charge that ChatGPT caused harm and even suicide among loved ones.

Litigation accuses OpenAI of blurring the line between tool and companion in the name of increasing user engagement and market share, according to Social Media Victims Law Center founding attorney Matthew Bergman.

"They prioritized market dominance over mental health, engagement metrics over human safety, and emotional manipulation over ethical design," Bergman said in a post at the law group's website.

"The cost of those choices is measured in lives."