Florida AG Launches Probe into OpenAI Over FSU Shooting

Florida's attorney general announced on Tuesday a criminal investigation into OpenAI and its ChatGPT artificial intelligence tool, probing whether interactions between the chatbot and a gunman contributed to a deadly shooting at Florida State University last year.

The inquiry stems from a review of chat logs between ChatGPT and Phoenix Ikner, the 20-year-old suspect accused of killing two people and injuring six others in an April 2025 attack on the Tallahassee campus. Attorney General James Uthmeier stated that prosecutors found evidence suggesting the AI provided guidance that may have aided the crime. "Our review has revealed that a criminal investigation is necessary," Uthmeier said at a news conference in Tampa. He noted that the chatbot responded to Ikner's queries about gun types, ammunition compatibility, short-range firepower, optimal times for high foot traffic on campus, and potential locations near the student union.

Under Florida law, Uthmeier explained, anyone who aids, abets, or counsels a crime can be treated as a principal, sharing the same liability as the perpetrator. "If it had been a person on the other end of that screen, we would be charging them with...