OpenAI CEO Sam Altman apologised to the Canadian community of Tumbler Ridge for failing to alert police about a banned ChatGPT account linked to Jesse Van Rootselaar, who authorities say killed eight people at a school in February before taking her own life.
In a letter dated April 23, Altman said he was “deeply sorry” that law enforcement was not notified about Van Rootselaar’s account, which OpenAI had banned in June last year.
OpenAI had said the account was banned last year for policy violations, but the issues did not meet the company’s internal criteria for reporting to law enforcement.
Altman said he had spoken with Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka and British Columbia Premier David Eby, describing the community’s pain as “unimaginable.”
He added that the company is committed to working with government officials to help prevent a similar tragedy from occurring again.
