How did Florida open a ChatGPT criminal probe?

Florida launches criminal investigation involving ChatGPT and a mass shooting

Florida’s attorney general opened a criminal investigation into OpenAI and ChatGPT amid allegations that information provided by ChatGPT may have been used in planning a mass shooting.

The case centers on last year’s shooting at Florida State University, where two people were killed and six were wounded. Florida’s investigation follows claims that the accused gunman used ChatGPT in the lead-up to the attack.

What authorities are investigating

• Whether ChatGPT played a role in planning the mass shooting
• Whether any criminal liability could attach to OpenAI or the chatbot’s outputs

OpenAI responded that the bot is not responsible in the way required for legal accountability, positioning ChatGPT as a tool rather than an actor.

Why it matters

This is a rare move by a state attorney general: instead of pursuing civil claims or platform policy questions, Florida is attempting to determine whether involvement by an AI system’s guidance could translate into criminal exposure.

The investigation also highlights how quickly generative AI is moving from a consumer technology to an element of consequential events—raising new questions about how to attribute intent and causality when an AI produces information that a user may apply.

At a practical level, subpoenas and investigation processes can pressure companies to preserve logs, communications, and technical context relevant to user queries around specific incidents.

It’s still unclear what evidence Florida will require to pursue charges, if any, and whether the investigation will lead to formal proceedings beyond subpoenas and legal demands. What is clear is that AI use in violent wrongdoing is now prompting state-level criminal scrutiny, not just reputational or regulatory responses.