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Florida opens criminal probe over ChatGPT’s alleged role in FSU shooting

▶ Watch Video: Open AI, Chat GPT investigated criminally in a probe by Florida’s Attorney General

Florida’s attorney general announced Tuesday that his office has launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI after reviewing conversation logs between its generative AI chatbot, ChatGPT, and a Florida State University student accused of killing two people and wounding several others after opening fire on campus last April.

“My prosecutors have looked at this and they’ve told me if it was a person on the other end of that screen, we would be charging them with murder,” Attorney General James Uthmeier said during a news conference Tuesday. The shooting suspect, Phoenix Ikner, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted first-degree murder. His trial is scheduled to begin in October, court records show. 

Uthmeier said his team determined that ChatGPT offered “significant advice” to the alleged shooter, advising him on what type of gun to use and whether it would be effective at short range. 

He said Florida is issuing subpoenas to OpenAI requesting records of the company’s policies and training materials for when users make threats to harm themselves or others. The office is also subpoenaing training materials regarding cooperation with law enforcement and policies for reporting possible crimes.

An OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News on Tuesday that the company identified an account believed to be associated with Ikner and shared it with law enforcement. The company said that ChatGPT “did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity” and that the bot provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found in public sources on the internet. 

“Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime,” OpenAI said in its statement.

The company said it will continue to cooperate with authorities and is continuously working to strengthen safeguards, detect harmful intent and limit misuse.

Chat logs shared by the Florida State Attorney’s Office with CBS News reveal messages between the suspect and ChatGPT in which Ikner asked about the lethality of certain shotgun shells, if school shooters were sent to maximum security prisons, and whether three shooting victims at FSU would garner media attention.

He also queried the bot about the busiest time at the FSU student union, where the deadly shooting later took place.

Over half a dozen sharks seen on video near popular Maine beach in two days

By CNN
Click here for updates on this story    SCARBOROUGH, Maine (WBZ) -- More than half a dozen white sharks have been spotted close to shore in Scarborough, Maine over a 48-hour period, prompting warnings and increased monitoring near a popular beach.The sightings have generated interest from both beachgoers and biologists. Scarborough Marine Resource Officer Daryen Granata said many of the sharks spotted in the area are juveniles, including one captured on video by a paddleboarder."Usually we'll see one or two [sharks] here and there. This is a large volume, larger than I've seen, and I've worked this area for 30-plus years," Granata said. "Five to seven, fairly good-sized sharks, probably six to eight feet. And then there were some drone videos of some larger ones. You know, 10-12 feet, but we're just keeping an eye on it."Granata joined biologists on a boat to survey the waters near a popular sandbar at Pine Point Beach where the sharks have been spotted. The area is also frequently used by swimmers and people fishing from the water."We know it's a place where people recreationally fish in waist-deep water; they typically swim right there," Granata said. "They're right in an intertidal zone. At low tide, it's exposed. At high tide, there's 10 feet of water.""We started flying aircrafts and drones, and making sure that we can keep track. And they've been there consistently for the last 48 hours," Granata added.While it is not rare to see sharks along the New England coast this time of year, some less common sights are becoming more frequent. Like the volume of sharks in Maine and the variety, like the tiger shark, which was reeled in off the coast of Falmouth, Massachusetts, this week.New England Aquarium adjunct scientist John Chisholm, who was with the crew aiming to tag sharks in Scarborough, said warmer water is making the region more hospitable to some sharks."[Tiger Sharks] were just coming up here occasionally. Now they're coming up here reliably year after year because the water temperature is hospitable to them," Chisholm said. "The waters in New England are warming faster than any other places in the ocean around the world.""That's more like numbers we see down when we're tagging off of the Cape; the numbers were a little surprising," Chisholm said about the number of sharks seen in Maine. "But it's definitely not unusual for white sharks to be in this area this time of year.Chisholm said the recent sightings are also a reminder that people entering the ocean are entering a wild environment."Be aware of your surroundings and prepare before you go to the beach because you're going into a wilderness area," Chisholm said.At Pine Point Beach, beachgoer Mark Coleman said sharks are something he keeps in mind while visiting the coast."I don't want to get eaten, but no problem. Sharks are sharks; they'll stay out there, and I'll stay here, no worries," Coleman said.For those who do choose to enter the water, experts recommend avoiding splashing, seals and schools of fish.Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
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