It is a first in the United States. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the opening of a criminal investigation into OpenAI and its ChatGPT interface, in the wake of the shooting that took place in April 2025 at Florida State University. The attack, carried out by 20-year-old student Phoenix Ikner, resulted in two deaths and six injuries on campus. Authorities are now looking into the exchanges between the suspect and the chatbot before the act took place.
According to the information gathered, the shooter reportedly questioned ChatGPT about aspects related to weapons, ammunition, and the optimal timing to maximize the impact of the attack. During a press conference, James Uthmeier stated that ChatGPT had provided significant guidance to the shooter before he committed this heinous crime. “My investigators told me that if this thing on the other side of the screen (ChatGPT) was a person, we would charge it with homicide,” he further specified.
“A legal territory never explored”
According to information obtained by The New York Times, the suspect also inquired about how the country would react to a campus shooting and what were the peak times within the university. The prosecutor clarified that this process marks a turning point, shifting from a civil investigation to a criminal one, while acknowledging that pursuing a company on this ground constitutes “a legal territory never explored.”
On the other hand, OpenAI has denied any responsibility, asserting that “ChatGPT was not responsible for this dreadful crime” and that the tool had only provided “factual answers.” The company indicates that it is cooperating with the authorities and is working to enhance its mechanisms to “detect dangerous intent” and “respond appropriately.” The ongoing investigation does not rule out potential lawsuits and may involve examining internal practices and security policies of the company.
In January, Google and Character.AI settled amicably with families accusing conversational robots of harming minors and leading one of them to take their own life.
