OpenAI Faces Lawsuits Over Deadly Mass Shooting in Canada
Key takeaways
- The families of victims of a February school shooting in British Columbia opened seven lawsuits Wednesday against Open AI, the creator of Chat GPT.
- The cases could have major implications for future chatbot safeguards and whether companies can be held liable for how people use artificial intelligence.
- Investigators allege that the shooter had also killed her mother and half-brother.
The families of victims of a February school shooting in British Columbia opened seven lawsuits Wednesday against Open AI, the creator of Chat GPT. The lawsuits, filed in federal court in San Francisco, claim that Open AI's actions regarding the shooter's use of its AI allowed the shooting to happen.
The cases could have major implications for future chatbot safeguards and whether companies can be held liable for how people use artificial intelligence.
The shooting occurred on Feb. 10 when an 18-year-old former student entered a secondary school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, and opened fire using a modified handgun, killing five children and an education assistant, according to news reports. Investigators allege that the shooter had also killed her mother and half-brother. The combined fatalities made this one of the deadliest shootings in Canadian history. The shooter died at the scene, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.