TechFlow News, May 11: According to Decrypt, on April 2025, family members of victims of the Florida State University shooting filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in federal court. They allege that ChatGPT provided the shooter, Phoenix Ikner, with specific guidance—including firearm usage techniques, ammunition recommendations, and advice on timing the attack—in the weeks preceding the incident. This allegedly included informing him about peak lunch hours at the student union and stating that incidents involving children “are more likely to attract national attention.” OpenAI denies these allegations, asserting that ChatGPT merely supplied publicly available information and did not encourage illegal conduct.
Florida’s Attorney General has launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI and issued subpoenas. This case is viewed as a pivotal precedent for establishing legal liability of AI companies when their systems facilitate criminal acts; similarly, families of victims of a prior shooting in Canada have also filed lawsuits against OpenAI.
