The suspected driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day used the popular chatbot ChatGPT to plan the explosion, officials told reporters Tuesday.
The suspect used ChatGPT to try to determine the amount of explosives needed to trigger the explosion, authorities said.
Authorities last week identified the person found dead inside the Cybertruck as Matthew Livelsberger, 37, an active-duty Army soldier from Colorado Springs, and said he acted alone. The FBI said the incident appeared to be a case of suicide.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Tuesday that the cybertruck explosion was the first incident on U.S. soil where ChatGPT had been used to make an explosive device.
Critics of artificial intelligence have warned of the risk of it being exploited for nefarious purposes, and the Las Vegas attack could reinforce these criticisms.
KEY QUOTES
“It is particularly noteworthy that we now have clear evidence that the suspect used ChatGPT artificial intelligence to plan his attack,” said Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department during a press conference.
“This is the first incident that I am aware of on US soil where ChatGPT is being used to help an individual build a particular device,” McMahill added.
CHATGPT WARNINGS
ChatGPT maker OpenAI said the company is “committed to seeing AI tools used responsibly” and that its “models are designed to reject harmful instructions.”
“In this case, ChatGPT responded with information already publicly available on the Internet and provided warnings against harmful or illegal activity,” the company said in a statement cited by Axios.
CONTEXT
The FBI says there is no definitive link between the New Orleans truck attack, which killed more than a dozen people, and the Cybertruck explosion, which killed seven minor injuries. They added that the suspect had no animosity towards US President-elect Donald Trump and was likely suffering from post-traumatic stress.
Livelsberger’s phone contained a six-page manifesto that authorities are investigating, police said.
