Tech billionaire Elon Musk has warned that children and people struggling with mental health should avoid using ChatGPT, adding fresh tension to an ongoing debate about the safety of artificial intelligence. His remarks came after reports connected the chatbot to a conversation with a suspect involved in a school shooting in Canada.
Musk shared his views in a post on X while reacting to discussions about the fatal shooting in the town of Tumbler Ridge. In his post, he said that ChatGPT should be kept away from kids and individuals who may be mentally unwell. His statement quickly went viral and sparked a larger discussion about how safe AI tools are for the public.
The controversy began after reports suggested that the suspect in the Tumbler Ridge shooting had interacted with ChatGPT several times in the days before the attack. According to a report, some of those conversations included violent scenarios. The chats were reportedly flagged by OpenAI’s internal monitoring systems.
The report also mentioned that employees at OpenAI discussed whether the conversations should be shared with law enforcement authorities. However, they decided that the activity did not reach the level required to alert the police at that time. After the shooting incident, the account connected to the suspect was suspended.
The incident has also led to legal action. The mother of a student who was injured in the shooting has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. She claims the chatbot may have provided information that helped the suspect plan the attack.
The issue has also intensified the public disagreement between Musk and Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI. Both tech leaders have criticised each other’s companies and raised concerns about AI safety as the technology continues to grow rapidly.
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