Florida: Prosecutor's office opens criminal investigation into ChatGPT linked to mass shooting

Authorities in Florida announced on Tuesday a criminal investigation into whether the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, from OpenAI, contributed to a deadly mass shooting at Florida State University (FSU) that occurred last year, leaving two dead and six injured.

State Attorney General James Uthmeier made the decision after reviewing exchanges between the suspect and the AI chatbot. "If ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder," Uthmeier said in a statement, invoking Florida law that equates those who aid or counsel crimes with an "aider and abettor," giving them equal liability to the primary perpetrator.

Details of the incident and investigation

Phoenix Ikner, son of a local sheriff's deputy and FSU student, used his mother's service weapon to attack students on campus. Witness videos released by CNN show a young man firing at those fleeing across the lawn, before being seriously - but not fatally - wounded by police. Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil stressed that Ikner participated in department training programs, explaining his access to weapons.

Although the exact details of the conversations with ChatGPT have not been disclosed, Uthmeier will soon subpoena OpenAI to delve into whether the AI's responses facilitated the crime. Ikner survived and remains in custody.

OpenAI response

A spokesperson for OpenAI denied responsibility, "Last year's mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime." The company identified the suspect's account and informed law enforcement after the event, cooperating with the FBI.

"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 spokesman added in response to an AFP query.