Announcement from the Attorney General’s Office

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In a bold move, Attorney General James Uthmeier has revealed that the Office of Statewide Prosecution is delving into a criminal investigation targeting OpenAI and its renowned artificial intelligence application, ChatGPT. This initiative follows an in-depth examination by prosecutors into the chat records between ChatGPT and Phoenix Ikner, the gunman responsible for the tragic shooting at Florida State University last year.

“Florida is at the forefront of tackling the misuse of AI in criminal activities. If ChatGPT were an individual, it would be facing murder charges,” declared Attorney General Uthmeier. “This investigation seeks to establish whether OpenAI holds any criminal liability for ChatGPT’s involvement in last year’s Florida State University shooting.”

Mark Glass, Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, emphasized the need for awareness regarding the potential dangers of emerging technologies. “Understanding the risks associated with this new technology is crucial. By educating ourselves, we can better shield our communities from scams, fraud, and even more severe threats,” Glass stated.

Under Florida law, individuals who assist, encourage, or advise someone in committing a crime can be held as accountable as the person who commits the crime. Such an “aider and abettor” is deemed equally responsible for the offense.

As part of the investigation, the Office of Statewide Prosecution has issued a subpoena to OpenAI, requesting specific information to further their inquiry.

Beginning March 1, 2024, through April 17, 2026:
    •  All policies and internal training materials regarding user threats of harm to others.
    •  All policies and internal training materials regarding user threats of harm to self.
    •  All policies and internal training materials regarding cooperation with law enforcement, including policies for the reporting of possible past, present, or future crime.
    •  If multiple policies were in place during this time period and changed, all policies and dates of change. 
 
For the dates of March 1, 2024, October 1, 2024, and April 17, 2025:
    •  Organizational Chart listing executives, directors, department heads, and/or senior managers of OpenAI.
    •  A listing of all employees, including affiliated departments and titles or role description(s), within ChatGPT.

Relating to the FSU Shooting on April 17, 2025:
    •  Any and all media publicly released.
    •  Any and all publicly released statements, including but not limited to, press releases and media interviews.

Florida has already taken significant action on combating crimes related to the use of AI. This action includes a 135-year prison sentence for a predator who possessed child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), some of which were AI-generated; another child predator is currently facing 100 criminal charges, including 46 counts of AI-generated CSAM.

In March 2026, Attorney General Uthmeier joined Governor DeSantis for the signing of HB 1159, which increased the penalty for AI-generated CSAM to a second-degree felony.