Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Thursday that he plans to probe OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT chatbot for potentially playing a role in a mass shooting at Florida State University last year. <\/p>\n
Last week, the family of one of two victims in the attack announced it plans to sue OpenAI because the gunman allegedly constantly communicated with ChatGPT in the days leading to the shootings. A lawyer for the victim\u2019s family told<\/a> a Florida TV station he has \u201creason to believe that ChatGPT may have advised the shooter how to commit these heinous crimes.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n Uthmeier posted a statement on X announcing his office\u2019s investigation, saying that legislators and AI companies must do more to ensure their products don\u2019t threaten individuals\u2019 safety. <\/p>\n \u201cChatGPT may likely have been used to assist the murderer in the recent mass school shooting at Florida State University that tragically took two lives,\u201d Uthmeier said in a videotaped announcement<\/a>. \u201cAI should exist to supplement, support and advance mankind, not lead to an existential crisis or our ultimate demise.\u201d <\/p>\n Uthmeier said that he plans to issue subpoenas in the coming days. <\/p>\n An OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement that more than 900 million people use ChatGPT each week to learn new skills or get health care advice. <\/p>\n \u201cOur ongoing safety work continues to play an important role in delivering these benefits to everyday people, as well as supporting scientific research and discovery,\u201d the statement said. \u201cWe build ChatGPT to understand people’s intent and respond in a safe and appropriate <\/p>\n way, and we continue improving our technology.\u201d <\/p>\n OpenAI will cooperate with the investigation, the statement said. <\/p>\n AI chatbots have allegedly played a role in a number of suicides and murders, according to victims\u2019 families. <\/p>\n Psychologists have said they believe ChatGPT and similar technologies can lead to so-called AI psychosis by amplifying delusions in users who communicate with chatbots about irrational fears or their desire to kill themselves. <\/p>\n In one such case, Connecticut man Stein-Erik Soelberg, who had a history of mental illness, reportedly<\/a> killed his mother and himself after ChatGPT allegedly egged on his paranoia that he was being surveilled. <\/p>\n \u201cErik, you\u2019re not crazy,\u201d OpenAI allegedly told Soelberg. \u201cYour instincts are sharp and your vigilance here is fully justified.\u201d <\/p>\n In January, relatives of a Colorado man who took his own life in November claimed<\/a> that ChatGPT encouraged him to kill himself. The case is one of multiple instances of relatives saying ChatGPT encouraged their loved ones to commit suicide. <\/p>\n Kentucky filed a lawsuit against a different chatbot company, Character.AI, in January for allegedly endangering children, saying<\/a> in a complaint that chatbots are \u201cdangerous technology that induces users into divulging their most private thoughts and emotions and manipulates them with too frequently dangerous interactions and advice.\u201d <\/p>\n Get more insights with the <\/p>\n Recorded Future<\/p>\n Intelligence Cloud.<\/p>\n