Authorities say the Las Vegas Cybertruck bomber used ChatGPT to plan the attack

ChatGPT is a generative AI tool that has undeniably changed the world. This is no small achievement for a tool released less than three years ago. However, the rapid rise of generative AI has also sparked ethical concerns, especially regarding its role in areas like impersonation, copyright issues, and beyond.

Now, it seems we might be witnessing one of the first instances where ChatGPT was used to plan an attack. At least, that’s what authorities believe. If you’ve been following the news, you’ve likely heard about the Tesla Cybertruck bombing that occurred last week.

The culprit is a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, Master Sgt. Matthew Livelsberger. Here's a brief timeline of what happened:

• December 31, 2024: Livelsberger rented a Tesla Cybertruck in Colorado and drove to Las Vegas.
• January 1, 2025:
  • 7:30 AM PST: He arrived in Las Vegas with a Cybertruck that had been fitted with a detonation system consisting of fireworks, gas tanks, and fuel.
  • 8:39 AM PST: He parked the Cybertruck at the entrance of the Trump International Hotel. The Cybertruck, as you can imagine, blew up, but not before he killed himself with a gunshot to the head.

So, where does ChatGPT fit into all this? Well, Kevin McMahill, sheriff for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, says that Livelsberger looked up the amount of explosives he'd need to carry out his attack, where to buy a phone without providing personally identifiable information (PII), and where to buy fireworks.

Soon after the news broke, OpenAI was quick to do some damage control. A spokesperson for the AI heavyweight told CBS News that OpenAI was "working with law enforcement to support their investigation."

The spokesperson also clarified that the information ChatGPT provided was already publicly available and that ChatGPT responded to Livelsberger's queries while "providing warnings against harmful or illegal activities."

ChatGPT has come a long way since its late 2022 launch. In 2024 alone, OpenAI released many new features and expanded existing ones, such as SearchGPT, to free users. A recap of last year’s major changes to ChatGPT is available for you to read.