The provincial government announced on Tuesday that it has retained counsel to pursue legal action against OpenAI for its failure to notify law enforcement of threats made on its platform before a mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in February.
The province said it has retained CFM Lawyers in Vancouver and Stranch, Jennings & Garvey, a California-based law firm, to explore all legal avenues to hold OpenAI and its decision-makers accountable.
OpenAI, which said it disabled shooter Jesse VanRootselaar’s account in June over “violent” activity, said in a previous statement that it had also discovered a second ChatGPT account linked to VanRootselaar’s name after the shooting, despite a system that flags repeat policy offenders.
OpenAI ultimately alerted the RCMP to the shooter’s ChatGPT activity after the mass shooting on Feb. 10.
The head of OpenAI, Sam Altman, issued an apology letter to the community of Tumbler Ridge in April.
The attack at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Feb. 10 claimed the lives of eight innocent people, including an educator and five children between the ages of 11 and 13, and left 27 others wounded.
“Our thoughts remain with the families who lost loved ones, the people who were injured and the entire Tumbler Ridge community,” said B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma in a statement.
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“As the community continues to heal, our government remains focused on supporting those affected and pursuing accountability. When there are serious concerns that opportunities to prevent harm were missed, we have a responsibility to act. We owe that to the victims, their families and everyone whose life was changed by this tragedy.”
In late April, seven families impacted by the Tumbler Ridge shooting filed lawsuits against OpenAI and Altman in a San Francisco court on behalf of five murder victims and two who were injured.
“These families from the Canadian north have come together and they’ve decided to pursue litigation in the United States on a scale that can hold these companies to account,” Vancouver-based lawyer John Rice with Rice Parsons Leoni & Elliott LLP told Global News.
The claims, which have not been tested in court, state that in the weeks that followed the attack in Tumbler Ridge, “a sickening truth emerged: ChatGPT played a role in the mass shooting and OpenAI could have, and should have, prevented it.”
Any legal action pursued by the province would be separate from the litigation initiated by families and community members in Tumbler Ridge, the government confirmed on Tuesday.
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“British Columbia has never shied away from taking on powerful corporations when their actions cause harm to people and communities,” Sharma said in a statement.
“We are taking this step because there are serious concerns about OpenAI’s failure to notify law enforcement after threats were flagged on its platform. We will pursue every available avenue to hold OpenAI and its decision-makers accountable because no company or corporate leader should be beyond scrutiny when public safety is at stake.”
The RCMP criminal investigation into the mass shooting is ongoing, Mounties confirmed on Tuesday.
“Digital and physical evidence has been collected, prioritized and processed,” Staff Sgt. Kris Clark, senior media relations officer with RCMP E Division, said in a statement.
“Efforts are still underway to analyze the contents on electronic devices seized, as well as to collect all the data from multiple social media and online accounts.”
Investigators have reviewed more than 100 interview statements from students, educators and first responders and are completing the firearms assessments.
Clark said they have not eliminated the possibility that charges could be laid.
“It is important to understand that the absence of publicly disclosed details does not mean investigators do not have that information,” he said.
“Rather, we must protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, particularly with potential future prosecution in mind.
“The RCMP is also mindful of an upcoming BC Coroner’s Inquest, in which we will fully participate.”
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