Open AI Sued Over Shooting

The Canadian province, British Columbia, sued OpenAI in California, saying a mass school shooting in the province could have been prevented had the company warned ⁠law enforcement the shooter ⁠had used ChatGPT to ​plan the massacre. My opinion is controversial to many, but I am of the opinion the only one to blame in any shooting… is the person who commits such acts… with rare exceptions.

The lawsuit names OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, as defendants. It seeks damages to fund recovery efforts in the province, as well as an order directing changes to the way the company handles ChatGPT conversations that could lead to violence. I have a problem understanding that logic. How are computers, or people monitoring them, suppose to know whether someone is talking seriously, jokingly, or just doing research for a book or basic knowledge of a topic?

If every conversation that could be remotely considered “dangerous” were to be reported, agencies would be so overloaded with calls/reports, the truly dangerous ones would still slip through. It would be akin to finding a needle in a 5-gallon bucket of toothpicks.

The facts: Nine people were killed in the school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia last February. The shooter, Jesse Van ⁠Rootselaar, had been flagged by the company’s safety team after her conversations about gun violence. However, the company did not alert police, stating the issues did ​not meet its internal criteria for reporting to law ​enforcement. While many may find that statement appalling, one must also consider what exactly those conversations may have contained, or how they were phrased.

Altman did later apologize saying he was “deeply sorry” that OpenAI had not contacted ‌law enforcement. He also followed up by promising reforms.

The school where the shooting took place is being ‌demolished. That’s also disturbing. Why? Because we apparently have become so mentally and emotionally weak that we need to tear down anything that reminds us of a killing. As a result, the residents of the province are being forced to absorb the costs of a replacement school, as well as providing mental health care. Grow up people; get an emotional and psychological backbone.

British Columbia’s lawsuit comes after more than 30 family members of victims, and others affected by the attack, filed lawsuits accusing the company of opting out of a chance to prevent ‌the shooting. Again, how are they to know whether someone is actually crazy enough to commit a killing? Let’s quit blaming everyone with deep pockets. This is nothing more than people/governments trying to get rich off of tragedy. It’s shameful, just like the Charlie Kirk family greed I wrote about in a recent blog.

In OpenAI’s defense, the shooter’s account was deactivated. However, she was able to get a new account, and continued using the platform to plan her attack. Whether she was using the same name for the new account, the report does not state.

Simple fact is: computers and people can not read other people’s minds. They are not to blame, only the actual shooter is to blame.

Source used: Guardian

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