Family of girl critically injured in Tumbler Ridge shooting suing OpenAI
· Toronto Sun
The family of the girl critically injured in the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., has launched a civil court lawsuit against artificial intelligence firm OpenAI.
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The mother and father of Maya Gebala alleged in the B.C. Supreme Court legal claim that OpenAI had “specific knowledge of the shooter utilizing ChatGPT to plan a mass-casualty event like the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting.”
The claim alleges that the shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, interacted with OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT and included posts about gun violence. The lawsuit said Van Rootselaar’s accounts were shut down, but the company didn’t notify police until after the shooting. It also said the shooter was under 18 when they began using ChatGPT and despite the company policy that children between 13 and 18 years old must have parental consent to open an account, the company allegedly didn’t impose age verification or consent procedures.
None of the allegations have been proven in court and OpenAI has yet to respond to the claims. The company has also not responded to a request for a comment from The Canadian Press.
Update on Maya’s condition
Maya, 12, was critically injured in the deadly Feb. 10 mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, a small community in northeastern B.C. She is recovering in a hospital and her mother said in a recent Facebook post that her breathing tube had been removed .
“She had her breathing tube removed to see if she can breath on her own … what a terrifying experience,” Cia Edmonds wrote. “I held her hand while she winced, but she’s doing great. Best that could have been. My sweet girl is looking more like her beautiful self today.”
Edmonds and Maya’s father, David Gebala, said their daughter was hit in the neck and just above her left eye when Van Rootselaar opened fire at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, killing six people before committing suicide. Before the school shooting, Van Rootselaar’s mother, Jennifer Strang, and 11-year-old half brother Emmett were shot and killed at their home.
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Calling for restrictions
Both the Tumbler Ridge and Prince George chambers of commerce called for restrictions on social media and generative AI for youth under 16 years old.
“These tools are so powerful that that we shouldn’t have unrestricted access to those tools for children,” Prince George Chamber of Commerce CEO Neil Godbout told the CBC .
In 2023, a 12-year-old boy in linked to online sexual extortion committed suicide in that city. Godbout said he would like to see Australia-style legislation on the issue after the country imposed a ban on social media for users under 16.
The call came after it was revealed Van Rootselaar made violent posts on ChatGPT. Parent company OpenAI had come under fire for not flagging the account to police.
— With files from The Canadian Press.