Canada’s artificial intelligence minister has called OpenAI representatives to Ottawa after learning that the teenager behind the Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, mass shooting had been banned from ChatGPT months before the attack.
Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon said on Monday that the company had barred Jesse Van Rootselaar’s account in June after it was flagged for troubling content, but did not alert police because it did not find any credible or imminent threats at the time, according to CBC News.
Van Rootselaar killed her mother and half-brother on February 10 before going to a local secondary school, where she shot dead five students and an educational assistant, then killed herself, authorities said.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that the account had been flagged over posts that included scenarios involving gun violence. OpenAI said it contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after the shooting and confirmed senior leaders will travel to Ottawa to meet Canadian officials to discuss its safety measures and reporting thresholds.
Solomon said he was “deeply disturbed” by the reports and has asked the company to explain its escalation policies. He declined to say whether Ottawa intends to regulate artificial intelligence chatbots, adding that all options remain under consideration.
