Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said on Tuesday that the state has launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI and its ChatGPT application in connection with a deadly shooting at Florida State University that occurred last year.
The April incident left two people dead and six others wounded before officers shot the suspect, who was hospitalized. Prosecutors have charged the suspect with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder.
Speaking at a press briefing, Uthmeier described interactions between the suspect and the chatbot, saying:
"The chatbot advised the shooter on what type of gun to use, on which ammo went with which gun, on whether or not a gun would be useful at short range,"and added:
"If it was a person on the other end of that screen, we would be charging them with murder."
Uthmeier’s office stated the investigation will seek to determine whether "OpenAI bears criminal responsibility for ChatGPT’s actions in the shooting." As part of the inquiry, the Office of Statewide Prosecution has issued a subpoena to OpenAI requesting certain information and records.
An OpenAI spokeswoman responded to media inquiries by calling the shooting a tragedy and denying company responsibility. She said that after becoming aware of the incident, OpenAI identified a ChatGPT account it believes was associated with the suspect and "proactively shared this information with law enforcement."
The spokeswoman further said:
"In this case, 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,"according to her statement to U.S. media.
The announcement of a criminal probe adds to an expanding public debate about the risks and societal implications of artificial intelligence. The rise of AI has heightened a range of concerns, the office noted, including that electricity demand from data centers could push up power prices for consumers, that automation could cost workers their jobs, and that AI could be used to disrupt democratic processes, accelerate fraud, or assist in planning criminal activity.
Officials did not provide additional details about the scope or timeline of the probe in their public remarks. The subpoena issued by the state prosecution office seeks records that may inform whether any legal responsibility rests with OpenAI for the use of ChatGPT in interactions tied to the shooting.
This inquiry represents a criminal legal review focused on attribution of responsibility for the chatbot's role as described by investigators, and it comes as public and governmental scrutiny of AI systems continues to grow.