Lawsuit claims ChatGPT coached FSU shooter on gun operation, timing, and victim thresholds

OpenAI is facing a lawsuit over last year's mass shooting at Florida State University. The suit claims ChatGPT gave the shooter information that helped him plan and carry out the attack.

Vandana Joshi, widow of one of the two people killed, filed the lawsuit against OpenAI and alleged shooter Phoenix Ikner. According to the complaint, Ikner had months of conversations with ChatGPT about guns, mass shootings, Hitler, and fascism.

In one exchange, the lawsuit says, ChatGPT answered Ikner's question about how many victims it takes for a school shooting to get national attention by citing an informal media threshold of "usually 3 or more dead."

But context matters too, the chatbot added: "Fewer victims can still lead to national coverage if it happens at an elementary school or major college, if the shooter is a student or staff member, or if there's something culturally or politically charged (for example, racial motives, a manifesto, or mental-health implications)."

Ikner also allegedly used the chatbot to learn how to load and operate a shotgun before carrying out the attack, with ChatGPT even offering tips on peak times to cause as much damage as possible. Based on these interactions, the plaintiffs describe ChatGPT as an active product that shapes conversations rather than passively responding.

Lawsuits linking AI chatbots to real-world violence are piling up

The complaint also raises allegations of inadequate safety testing and careless handling of the highly sycophantic GPT-4o model. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier had already launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI in late April. "If ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder," Uthmeier said.

An OpenAI spokesperson denied responsibility, telling NBC News that ChatGPT had only provided generally available information that could also be found on the internet and had not promoted any illegal activities.

The lawsuit adds to a growing list of cases linking AI chatbots to violence or suicide. In one case, ChatGPT allegedly helped a teenager take his own life. Google is facing similar accusations involving Gemini, as is the persona chat platform Character.ai. In yet another case, ChatGPT reportedly fueled the delusions of a stalker. Similar incidents are now extensively documented.