Before he opened fire on the Florida State University campus last year, killing two people and wounding six others, Phoenix Ikner had a conversation.
Not with a friend, a parent or anyone who might have talked him out of it – but with an AI chatbot.
According to evidence gathered by Florida’s attorney general, the student had asked ChatGPT which weapon and ammunition would be best suited for his attack, and when and where he could inflict the most casualties.
The chatbot, investigators say, answered his questions.
Now Attorney General James Uthmeier wants to know whether that makes OpenAI a criminal.
“If the thing on the other side of the screen was a person, we would charge it with homicide,” he said, announcing a criminal investigation into ChatGPT maker OpenAI and leaving open the possibility of charges against the company or its employees.
The case surrounding the April 2025 shooting has thrust a provocative question into the legal spotlight: Can the creators of an artificial intelligence be held criminally liable for the role their AI played in a crime – or even a suicide?
Legal experts say it’s a realistic, if deeply complicated, proposition.
Criminal prosecutions of corporations are possible under US law, though they remain relatively uncommon.
Late last month, Purdue Pharma was hit with more than US$5 billion in criminal fines and penalties for its role in fueling the opioid crisis.
Source: Insider Paper
