Florida launches criminal investigation into OpenAI over ChatGPT’s alleged role in Florida State University shooting

Attorney General James Uthmeier said prosecutors reviewed chat logs showing ChatGPT advised the suspect on weapons, ammunition, and timing. The probe is the first criminal investigation into an AI company over an alleged role in a mass shooting in the US.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on Tuesday that the state’s Office of Statewide Prosecution has opened a criminal investigation into OpenAI over the alleged role of its ChatGPT chatbot in the April 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University.

The shooting, which killed two people and injured six others near the student union on FSU’s Tallahassee campus, was carried out by Phoenix Ikner, 21, a student at the university at the time. His trial is set to begin on 19 October 2026. More than 200 AI messages have been entered into evidence in the case.

Uthmeier said an initial review of Ikner’s ChatGPT chat logs ...