OpenAI faces 30 new lawsuits from victims of the Tumbler Ridge school shooting after the company failed to alert police of shooter's ChatGPT interactions.
OpenAI is facing 30 new lawsuits from victims of the Tumbler Ridge school shooting in British Columbia. Teachers and students who survived the massacre accuse the company of providing substantial assistance and encouragement to the shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, and failing to alert police about her alarming ChatGPT interactions during the run-up to the mass killing.
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Months before the shooting, OpenAI leaders considered warning local law enforcement about Van Rootselaar’s disturbing conversations with ChatGPT, which contained graphic descriptions of mass violence. After an internal debate, the company opted not to alert local officials and instead deactivated her account. However, the shooter created a new account shortly after. The new lawsuits join an initial seven complaints filed in April by the families of those killed in the attack. The lawsuits accuse OpenAI of negligence and aiding and abetting a mass shooting, alleging that ChatGPT stoked the shooter's violent fantasies. OpenAI chief safety officer Jason Kwon stated that the company's safety teams use automated systems and human judgment to balance security and privacy. Kwon also noted that the lawsuit contained false claims regarding the company's safety teams.