B.C. is looking at a path to take legal action against OpenAI due to the connection between the mass shooting that took place at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and ChatGPT.
Earlier this year, on Feb. 10, an 18-year-old shooter took the lives of eight people and wounded several others. An investigation revealed that threats were made by the shooter on the ChatGPT platform prior to the tragic event.
In April, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman made a public apology via an online statement regarding the shooting. “I am deeply sorry that we did not alert law enforcement to the account that was banned in June. While I know words can never be enough, I believe an apology is necessary to recognize the harm and irreversible loss your community has suffered,” Altman said at the time. B.C. Premier David Eby called the apology “grossly insufficient.”
Now, B.C. is reviewing its legal options to hold OpenAI accountable for failing to notify law enforcement of the threats made on its platform before the shooting. The Province has retained B.C. and California-based counsel to explore those options.
“When there are serious concerns that opportunities to prevent harm were missed, we have a responsibility to act. We owe that to the victims, their families and everyone whose life was changed by this tragedy,” said B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma.
The ministry says that internal reports from OpenAI indicate that its safety teams flagged the violent prompts on ChatGPT months before the attack, but the company’s leadership team did not notify police or local authorities. B.C. says that the shooter made explicit, “flagged threats.”
While this legal work commences, the Province says it is focused on supporting victims’ families and the long-term recovery of Tumbler Ridge. One of the ways the Province is doing that is by planning for a new school, which is also being supported by the Government of Canada.
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