British Columbia Sues OpenAI Over Tumbler Ridge School Shooting

The government of British Columbia has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in California, accusing the company of failing to alert law enforcement about violent threats made through ChatGPT before a mass shooting at a school in the province.

Attorney General Niki Sharma said Monday that the lawsuit seeks accountability from OpenAI and changes to the way artificial intelligence companies respond to credible threats of violence. The case was filed in a federal court in San Francisco and also names OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman as a defendant.

The lawsuit relates to the February 10 shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia. Eight people were killed in the attack, including five children and an educator, while dozens of others were injured. The shooter also died.

British Columbia alleges that OpenAI’s safety systems had identified concerning interactions involving the shooter and ChatGPT before the attack but that the company did not notify the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Sharma said the conversation was serious enough to trigger an internal review at OpenAI, but the threat was not reported to police. She has also said the province requested access to the relevant ChatGPT conversations, but OpenAI has not provided them.

The lawsuit argues that the company should have taken additional steps after its safety systems identified the account as a potential threat. It alleges that the company failed to adequately address the risk and that ChatGPT’s design contributed to the circumstances surrounding the attack.

The province is seeking damages for costs associated with the tragedy, including expenses related to rebuilding Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. British Columbia has also asked the court to require OpenAI to strengthen safeguards so that conversations involving threats of violence are reliably refused, ended or de-escalated.

OpenAI has previously expressed regret that it did not alert authorities in connection with the case. The company has said it is committed to improving its safety systems and cooperating with law enforcement.

The lawsuit is separate from legal claims filed by victims’ families and survivors. More than 30 cases have reportedly been brought against OpenAI in connection with the Tumbler Ridge shooting.

Sharma said the case also highlights wider concerns about whether existing laws and safety frameworks are adequate for rapidly developing AI technology. She has called for stronger rules governing the responsibilities of AI companies when their systems identify credible threats.

The province’s legal action adds to growing scrutiny of AI companies over the safety of their products and the responsibilities of platforms when users engage in conversations involving potential violence.