Victims of Tumbler Ridge, B.C., mass shooting suing OpenAI and founder

Victims of the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., mass shooting have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in California against OpenAI and its founder Sam Altman.

Plaintiffs allege the company failed to warn authorities about troubling behaviour by the shooter with the program’s ChatGPT chatbot months before the attack.

The case includes survivors and families of victims, including a 12-year-old who was seriously injured, and the father of a boy who was killed.

Lawyers say the suit was filed in California due to higher potential damages compared with Canadian courts and partially because Canadian courts cap damages for pain and suffering.

Chicago-based lawyer Jay Edelson is representing some of the victims, and says they will likely seek more than a billion dollars in their legal action against OpenAI and its founder.

Altman wrote an apology letter to the community, shared last week.

Nine people died, including the shooter, in the February attack.

With files from The Canadian Press.

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