Thirty new lawsuits were filed against OpenAI in a United States federal court in California on Wednesday, alleging that the company's ChatGPT chatbot played a role in the February mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia, Canada, that left eight people dead.
According to Al Jazeera, the new complaints join seven initial lawsuits filed in April, bringing the total number of cases against the San Francisco-based artificial intelligence company to 37. The new plaintiffs include teachers and students who were witnesses and survivors at the school where most of the shooting took place.
The lawsuits, brought by lawyer Jay Edelson, accuse OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman of negligence, as well as aiding and abetting a mass shooting. The suits allege that the company knew about the intentions of 18-year-old shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar, who had described scenarios involving gun violence in her interactions with ChatGPT, but that leadership did not report those concerns to law enforcement.
Authorities say Van Rootselaar killed her mother and half-brother before going to the school and opening fire. Five children and one educator were killed at the school. More than 25 others were wounded before Van Rootselaar died from what police described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
One of the new cases was filed on behalf of a 13-year-old identified as A.C., who played dead after watching the shooter kill classmates and a teacher. Another new case was brought by a grade seven teacher named Deidre Rushlow, who hid under her desk with her students during the attack.
In April, Altman issued a public letter apologizing that OpenAI did not alert law enforcement. "While I know words can never be enough, I believe an apology is necessary to recognize the harm and irreversible loss your community has suffered," Altman wrote.
Jason Kwon, OpenAI's head of strategy, posted on X on Wednesday addressing the new filings. "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about what happened at Tumbler Ridge, or the victims of this devastating tragedy and their families. It's a constant and sobering reminder of the important and incredibly difficult work that many people in my team do each and every day," Kwon wrote. He added that the company has been "approaching this litigation with respect for both the legal process and the families and victims of this tragedy."
