‘Horrifying’: Focus on Tumbler Ridge shooter’s AI chats

An article by U.S. magazine Mother Jones details conversations between Tumbler Ridge shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar and an OpenAI chatbot. The report alleges that ChatGPT provided Van Rootselaar tactical advice on committing mass killings. An account of ChatGPT was shut down after Van Rootselaar sought advice about mass-killing scenarios targeting a famous real-world mall.

Van Rootselaar created a second account, which provided advice on circumventing safeguards by describing situations as fictional or hypothetical. ChatGPT reportedly told Van Rootselaar that a shotgun is effective in a crowded classroom, stating that it can down 10 to 20 people based on spacing, density, reaction times, and chaos.

B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma has written to the federal government seeking changes to the Criminal Code to hold AI companies accountable for the actions of individuals. The U.S. firm, OpenAI, is being sued by the B.C. government, along with victims and witnesses of the shootings. AI Minister Evan Solomon expressed horror at the report, but could not comment on the specific chatbot conversations due to the ongoing RCMP investigation.