📰 Families of Canada Mass-Shooting Victims File Seven Lawsuits Against OpenAI
A joint legal team representing families of victims from a school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, filed seven lawsuits against OpenAI in a California court on Wednesday. The legal action marks the largest effort to date to hold the AI company accountable for its role in the tragedy.
In February, 18-year-old Jessie Van Rootselaar opened fire at a secondary school in Tumbler Ridge, killing eight people, including six children. Media reports subsequently revealed that OpenAI’s safety team had flagged Van Rootselaar’s ChatGPT activity months before the attack for references to gun violence — but the company did not alert local police.
Last week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman apologized to the victims’ families in an open letter published by local news outlet Tumbler RidgeLines. “I am deeply sorry that we did not alert law enforcement,” Altman wrote. “While I know words can never be enough, I believe an apology is necessary to recognize the harm and irreversible loss your community has suffered.”
In a statement responding to the lawsuits, an OpenAI spokesperson said the company has “a zero-tolerance policy for using our tools to assist in committing violence.” The spokesperson added that OpenAI had “already strengthened our safeguards,” including better assessment and escalation of “potential threats of violence.” The company also published a blog post on Tuesday outlining how it responds to users who display potentially dangerous behaviour on ChatGPT.
The new legal actions, filed by a joint US-Canada legal team, will replace a previous lawsuit filed in a Canadian court by the family of one surviving victim, 12-year-old Maya Gebala, which is being voluntarily withdrawn. Gebala remains hospitalized after being shot three times — in the head, neck, and cheek.
Jay Edelson, the lawyer representing the families and community members, said he expects to file more than two dozen legal actions related to the shooting against OpenAI, and will request jury trials in each case. “We feel very comfortable making a case in front of a jury,” he told the BBC.
For Gebala’s case, lawyers will be seeking over $1 billion (£740 million) in damages, Edelson’s firm told the BBC. Edelson said he expects the jury “to award historic amounts.”
The lawsuits accuse OpenAI and its senior leadership, including Altman, of negligence and aiding and abetting the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting by failing to alert law enforcement of the suspect’s ChatGPT activities prior to the attack.
The suits allege that a 12-person safety team at OpenAI had recommended reporting the suspect to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), but that executive leadership at the company vetoed that decision. The lawsuits further claim that OpenAI’s senior leadership chose not to alert police in order to protect the valuation and reputation of the $850 billion company.
Source: BBC News