Police revealed a key detail in their investigation into the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck in the parking lot of a hotel owned by Donald Trump in Las Vegas. The incident, which occurred on January 1, resulted in one death, that of Matthew Livelsberger, the soldier suspected of being responsible.
Authorities explained that Livelsberger had long planned to explode his vehicle, using ChatGPT to gather information on various details. The generative AI from OpenAI answered several of his inquiries related to firearms and explosives, including questions like "Where can I buy Tannerite in Arizona?" and "What is the explosive power of 90 kilos of explosives compared to dynamite?"
These queries indicate that Livelsberger was trying to understand how the explosion would occur. However, preliminary investigations suggest that a gunshot inside the vehicle caused the explosion, which was less powerful than expected. Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla, noted that the perpetrator used "the wrong vehicle," which was capable of containing the explosion within the cabin. In a statement, OpenAI spokesperson Liz Bourgeois expressed sadness over the incident and emphasized the company's desire for responsible AI use, stating that ChatGPT had no way to prevent the issues arising from such queries.
