Canada summons OpenAI senior staff over Tumbler Ridge shooting

The shooting in Tumbler Ridge on 10 February is one of the deadliest in Canadian history.

Canada’s minister for artificial intelligence has summoned senior staff from OpenAI on Tuesday over the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, in which eight people were killed including six young children.

The company said last week it banned a ChatGPT account owned by the shooting suspect more than half a year before the attack but did not alert authorities at the time as it did not meet a serious harm threshold.

AI Minister Evan Solomon said the OpenAI staff will be asked to discuss “safety protocols” and when harmful posts are relayed to law enforcement.

The suspect in the 10 February attack was identified by police as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it is still investigating the incident, including “a thorough review of the content and electronic devices, as well as social media and online activities” related to the suspect.

In a statement to the BBC, the RCMP confirmed that OpenAI had reached out after the incident regarding the suspect’s activity on its platforms.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Friday that Van Rootselaar’s account was banned for troubling posts, including ones that featured scenarios of gun violence.

Solomon, Canada’s AI minister, told reporters on Monday that he was very disturbed by the revelation, and that his team reached out to OpenAI over the weekend for “an explanation about the situation”.

He added that he will be meeting with the OpenAI’s senior safety team, who are flying from the US to Ottawa for a Tuesday evening meeting.

“We will have a sit-down meeting to have an explanation of their safety protocols and their thresholds of escalation to police so we have a better understanding of what’s happening and what they do,” he said.

The firm confirmed in a statement that senior leaders will be in Ottawa “to discuss our overall approach to safety, safeguards we have in place, and how we…

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