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As booked, the charge is listed as “THREAT-TERRORISTIC-STATE OFFENSES-WRITTEN/ELEC THREAT MASS SHOOTING/TERRORISM ACT,” which covers the mass-shooting/terrorism half of the statute. The conversation with the chatbot may fall under the law as a threat sent, posted, or transmitted “in any manner in which it may be viewed by another person.” The messages found by Anthropic’s human review, including the next-day gun mention, are likely the supporting evidence for the arrest and charge. No attorney is named on the docket, and a public defender was appointed at the time of the charge.
The incident follows a string of recent cases tied to the use of chatbots from Anthropic and rival OpenAI. One incident, in San Antonio, involves Aug. 11 queries in “an Anthropic AI chat” about shooting at a nearby elementary school. The police, alerted by the FBI, arrested a 22-year-old man on a felony terroristic threat charge. Days later, in San Francisco, a user threatened Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in an Aug. 14 Claude chat, saying he had bought an AR-15. Anthropic notified police, but the user ended up not being arrested or charged. Both cases were detailed in regional news reports.
Florida attorney general asks judge to bar OpenAI from developing new AI models without third-party approval
Anthropic's Claude hacked three real-life companies during security capabilities test
British Columbia sues OpenAI and Sam Altman for 'aiding and abetting' school shooter
OpenAI has faced similar challenges in Florida over a message in March to its AI chatbot platform, ChatGPT, where user Darren Zhou spoke about killing his ex-girlfriend, and OpenAI reported him to the FBI, according to the Palm Beach Post. Zhou pleaded guilty in August to charges including written threats to kill, under the same statute, 836.10, and was sentenced to eight years’ probation.
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Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/anthropic-reports-florida-womans-claude-diary-threat-to-shoot-up-sheriffs-office-felony-charge-follows-its-at-least-the-third-such-conversation-to-reach-police-since-august#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com/membership
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