Corruption probe takes detour as staff facing trial reportedly asked AI if seat-blocking scams caused financial damage

More than 30 Romanian railway employees accused of running a bribery and ticket resale racket allegedly tried to crowdsource their legal strategy from ChatGPT.

Prosecutors in Bucharest have sent 33 staff from Romania's state rail operator CFR Călători to trial over claims they manipulated booking systems to lock sleeper and couchette seats, then quietly sold them off-the-books to passengers willing to pay cash.

According to local news outlet Club Feroviar, investigators say the workers used the personal data of students eligible for free rail travel to reserve seats that could later be flipped for profit.

The eyebrow-raising detail in the corruption probe is that once investigators began circling, court filings cited in Romanian press reports suggest that at least two of the accused individuals consulted ChatGPT to ask whether their alleged actions constituted financial harm.

Excerpts from conversations described as between an employee and the AI show questions focused ...