Canadian province sues OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge school shooting
British Colombia has accused the company of failing to report the shooter's troubling interactions with ChatGPT to law enforcement.
Canadian province sues OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge school shooting
A Canadian province is suing OpenAI over its alleged failure to alert authorities about troubling user interactions on ChatGPT before the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting.
The company has already apologised for not reporting Jessie Van Rootselaar's account to law enforcement before the 18-year-old killed eight people, including six children, in February.
British Columbia attorney general Niki Sharma said the lawsuit, filed in a US federal court on Monday, raised questions about "the responsibilities of technology companies when they become aware of credible threats of serious violence".
Families of those killed or injured in the shooting have filed separate lawsuits against OpenAI.
Media reports said Van Rootselaar's ChatGPT activity was flagged by OpenAI's safety team for references to gun violence months before the attack, but the company did not notify local authorities.
In April, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman apologised to the victims' families.
"I am deeply sorry that we did not alert law enforcement," Altman wrote in an open letter.
"To date, OpenAI has not taken meaningful steps to address the concerns raised by survivors, families and the Tumbler Ridge community," Sharma said in a statement.
"The company still has an opportunity to demonstrate accountability by strengthening safeguards, improving transparency and taking concrete action to help prevent similar tragedies in the future."
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Sharma said she had not read the contents of the OpenAI chats.
"We have asked OpenAI to disclose these chats. They have refused. We should all be asking them: Why?" she said, according to CBC
Sharma said the lawsuit was filed in California, as the alleged decision not to report the shooter's ChatGPT account occurred in that US state, according to AFP.
Sharma told reporters that any financial damages won by the province would go towards rebuilding the secondary school.