By Ebi Kesiena
The family of a 12-year-old student, Maya Gebala, has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, over severe injuries their daughter sustained during a deadly school shooting in Canada.
The lawsuit alleges that the technology company failed to alert authorities despite warning signs linked to the suspected attacker’s activities on its chatbot platform.
Maya suffered serious brain injuries after she was shot during the February attack at her school in Tumbler Ridge. The shooting was carried out by the suspect, Jesse Van Rootselaar.
A total of eight people were killed in the incident, including five young children and the suspect’s mother.
According to the lawsuit, the victim’s family claims OpenAI failed to properly verify the age of the suspect when she created an account on the ChatGPT platform, alleging that she registered before turning 18.
The filing further described the chatbot as a “trusted confidant” for the suspect, who reportedly engaged in months of conversations with the platform beginning late last year.
The family argued that the platform failed to implement adequate safeguards that could have prevented the violence.
Reports by BBC also cited the family as alleging that the company had reviewed some of the suspect’s conversations months before the shooting but did not notify law-enforcement authorities.
Instead, the lawsuit claims the suspect’s account was merely banned. The suspect was reportedly able to open a second ChatGPT account despite previously being flagged by the system, allowing further discussions involving violent scenarios.
The family contends that the injuries suffered by their daughter were partly the result of the company’s failure to alert authorities about potentially dangerous activities linked to the suspect.
Responding to the incident, OpenAI described the attack as an “unspeakable tragedy” and reiterated its commitment to strengthening safety measures on its systems.
The company’s Vice-President of Global Policy, Ann O’Leary, said the organisation would continue to work with governments and law-enforcement agencies to prevent similar tragedies.
“OpenAI remains committed to working with government and law enforcement officials to make meaningful changes that help prevent tragedies like this in the future,” she said.
