The spouse of a Florida State University mass shooting victim filed a lawsuit against ChatGPT maker OpenAI.
According to the lawsuit, ChatGPT helped alleged shooter Phoenix Ikner plan and carry out the 2025 shooting that left two people dead. Some examples provided by the lawsuit include ChatGPT identifying the guns eventually used in the shooting, providing information on how to use the guns, and helping Ikner prepare for the shooting.
The lawsuit also claimed that chat logs between ChatGPT and Ikner showed the AI chatbot saying that involving children in the shooting would get Ikner more attention.
In a response issued to Engadget, OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company is currently cooperating with authorities on the matter.
“In this case, ChatGPT provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found broadly across public sources on the internet, and it did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity,” said Pusateri.
He also said ChatGPT “is not responsible for this terrible crime” and that OpenAI provided information to authorities on an account that might be linked to Ikner.
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