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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Edward Helmore

Florida to open criminal investigation into OpenAI over ChatGPT’s influence on alleged mass shooter

students kneel at a memorial with flowers, balloons and notes for victims of a shooting
Students hold a vigil near the scene of a shooting on the Florida State University campus on 17 April 2025 in Tallahassee. Photograph: Miguel J Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images

Florida’s top prosecutor is to launch a criminal investigation into how the tech company OpenAI and its software tool ChatGPT may influence users’ threats of harm to themselves or others, including whether it “offered significant advice” to a gunman accused of conducting a mass shooting in the state last year.

State attorney general James Uthmeier said at a news conference on Tuesday that his office is expanding an examination of OpenAI, saying a “criminal investigation is necessary” and the state had issued subpoenas to the $852bn California-based tech firm.

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