Last year’s tragic shooting at Florida State University, which killed two and injured five, has led to a wave of legal action against technology giant OpenAI.

The first lawsuit was filed on May 10 in Florida’s northern federal district court by the family of Tiru Chabba, a 45-year-old husband and father of two who worked for Aramark Collegiate Hospitality. He was on campus in his role as a vendor when he was killed in the student dining hall.

“He used to call when he traveled to work…to wish each of his kids a good day, say that he loved them, and to tell them that good things were going to happen to them that day,” Greenville attorney Jim Bannister said during a news conference.

The lawsuit alleges he asked what time and location would maximize victims on campus, leading him to the dining hall.

The other man killed was 57-year-old Robert Morales – husband, father, and longtime dining director at FSU.

In addition to his years working at FSU, Morales also served as the special teams coach for a local high school football program. “He was a trusted coach, a respected colleague, and a cherished friend to many,” the school wrote on its website, describing him as having a “true passion for mentoring young athletes.”

Family says OpenAI knew this would happen

According to the lawsuit, ChatGPT helped the suspected shooter plan the attack. It says the AI platform provided information on what type of gun and ammunition to use, even advising him that “the Glock has no safety,” so he should “keep his finger off the trigger until he was ready to shoot.”

The lawsuit alleges he asked ChatGPT what time and location would maximize victims on campus, leading him to the dining hall.

In ChatGPT logs released by Florida law enforcement, the shooter allegedly asked specific questions about the number of fatalities it would require to make national news, and on the day of the shooting, he received information on the legal process of sentencing and incarceration.

In this day and age, teenagers use ChatGPT as their personal life coach. Those aren’t my words. Those are the words of the CEO of OpenAI.

“OpenAI knew this would happen. It’s happened before and it was only a matter of time before it happened again,” Vandana Joshi, Chabba’s wife, said in a statement.

OpenAI has denied any wrongdoing, and a statement from spokesman Drew Pusateri reads, “ChatGPT provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found broadly across public sources on the internet, and it did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity.”

Attorneys for Chabba’s family disagree, and the lawsuit alleges negligence, gross negligence, product liability, and negligent entrustment.

“In this day and age, teenagers use ChatGPT as their personal life coach. Those aren’t my words. Those are the words of the CEO of OpenAI,” said attorney Gregorio Francis of Osborne, Francis, and Pettis in a news conference.

Florida Attorney General also files suit against OpenAI

OpenAI’s legal troubles don’t end there. In late May, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed suit, alleging the AI firm and CEO Sam Altman promoted a product they knew could harm users.

Florida is the first state to sue OpenAI and Altman over their product design, including ChatGPT. This filing is separate from the criminal investigation into OpenAI Uthmeier announced previously, and he has said that investigation will continue during the civil suit.

If ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder.

Uthmeier’s suit takes aim at the platform design, an approach which has already led to victories over Meta and Google in both California and New Mexico.

The family of the other victim, Robert Morales, has said they also plan to file their own lawsuit against ChatGPT and OpenAI.

The legal outcomes will set precedent for how AI is defined in our lives: a search engine, a confidante, a conspirator. When announcing the launch of his criminal investigation, AG Uthmeier said, “If ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder.”