British Columbia sues OpenAI and Sam Altman over ChatGPT threats made before the Tumbler Ridge shooting
The province says the company failed to alert law enforcement. It is seeking emergency-response and recovery costs and a court order requiring safety changes.
The Canadian province of British Columbia has sued OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, in federal court in San Francisco. The province alleges that the company failed to notify law enforcement of threats made on ChatGPT before a shooter opened fire at a school in Tumbler Ridge. The suit was filed on Monday. It seeks financial compensation for past and future costs of the emergency response and community recovery, and asks the court to order the company to overhaul its safety practices. Families affected by the shooting have already filed separate lawsuits against OpenAI alleging that the chatbot played a role. A government suing over a chatbot's handling of warning signs puts a new kind of plaintiff in front of the courts. The case tests whether AI companies have a duty to report credible threats they detect, and whether public bodies can recover the costs of a tragedy from a technology provider. The supplied report does not include OpenAI's response.