tech
April 25, 2026
Sam Altman says he is 'deeply sorry' for failing to alert police ahead of mass shooting
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has apologized to a community in Canada after a mass shooting by a banned ChatGPT user.
TL;DR
- Sam Altman apologized to a Canadian community following a mass shooting by a banned ChatGPT user.
- The user, Jesse Van Rootselaar, killed eight people in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia.
- OpenAI banned the user's ChatGPT account for problematic usage but did not alert police, stating it did not meet the threshold for imminent harm.
- Altman expressed deep sorrow and promised to help prevent similar incidents.
- OpenAI is facing a lawsuit alleging ChatGPT assisted a teenager in exploring suicide methods.
- The company is working on revising chatbot behavior for sensitive topics and collaborating with mental health professionals to improve responses to users in distress.
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