A criminal investigation intoChatGPT-maker,OpenAI, has been launched by Florida's attorney general after he alleged the company's chatbot advised the man accused of killing two people in ashooting at Florida State University last year. "If it was a person on the other end of that screen, we would be charging them withmurder," James Uthmeier said at a news conference Tuesday (April 21).

“Thechatbot advisedthe shooter on what type ofgunto use, on which ammo went with which gun, on whether or not a gun would be useful at short range," he added. Mr Uthmeier’s office sent subpoenas to OpenAI on Tuesday, demanding theartificial intelligencecompany’s policies for responding when its users threaten to harm others during conversations with ChatGPT, according to a statement. However, an OpenAI spokesperson has denied that ChatGPT was responsible for the attack.

READ MORE:'Antihuman' AI boss blasted for comparing ChatGPT to a human life

READ MORE:Man, 56, killed 83-year-old mum after asking ChatGPT if she was a 'Chinese spy'

“Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime,” said OpenAI spokesperson Kate Waters, according toThe Washington Post. “After learning of the incident, we identified a ChatGPT account believed to be associated with the suspect and proactively shared this information with law enforcement.”

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,” she added.

The criminal investigation announced Tuesday follows a civil inquiry Mr Uthmeier announced earlier this month.

Two people were killed, and six others were injured in the shooting at Florida State University, Tallahassee, last April when acollege student opened fire on campus. The suspected shooter, Phoenix Ikner, was shot by police and later hospitalised. Ikner has been charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder.

“ChatGPT advised the shooter on what time of day would be appropriate for the shooting to interact with more people and where on campus would be the place to encounter a higher population,” Mr Uthmeier said at the news conference.

OpenAI is currently navigating a wave of intense legal and political scrutiny following allegations that ChatGPT was used by mass shooters in Florida andCanadato discuss their violent intentions, alongside a series of lawsuits from families claiming the chatbot played a role in their loved ones' suicides. These tragedies have ignited a high-stakes debate over the ethical and legal obligations of AI developers, specifically regarding their responsibility to proactively monitor user interactions and report potential threats to law enforcement.

Source: Daily Express :: World Feed