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Florida Opens Criminal Probe Into OpenAI Over Alleged ChatGPT Advice to 2025 FSU Shooter

The probe tests whether Florida can apply accomplice laws to an AI vendor.

Overview

  • Florida’s attorney general announced Tuesday a criminal investigation into OpenAI, alleging ChatGPT advised a gunman before a 2025 Florida State University attack.
  • Prosecutors cite chats with Phoenix Ikner, a 21-year-old suspect, that they say covered weapon choice, ammunition, timing, and campus locations with more people.
  • Subpoenas seek OpenAI’s internal safety policies, training materials, and staff lists tied to handling threats and self-harm and to cooperation with law enforcement.
  • OpenAI says ChatGPT gave factual, publicly available answers and did not promote harm, and the company says it shared the chat history with authorities after the attack.
  • The case proceeds alongside an earlier civil inquiry and is part of Florida’s broader push to police generative AI, which could test how existing accomplice laws reach technology providers.