The Canadian government said it is seeking answers from OpenAI and other artificial intelligence (AI) platforms over their safety protocols following a deadly mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge B.C.

Evan Solomon, the Canadian Minister for AI, said that he is concerned about how OpenAI internally flagged conversations of the alleged mass shooter of Tumbler Ridge but never reported it to the police.

“Like many Canadians, I am deeply disturbed by reports that concerning online activity from the suspect was not reported to law enforcement in a timely manner,” said Solomon in a statement to Global News, Canada.

Solomon’s statement comes after an exclusive report published in The Wall Street Journal revealed that OpenAI was aware of the past conversations of alleged Tumble Ridge shooter with its ChatGPT model and it was flagged internally, however, the AI company did not inform authorities.

On February 10, a mass shooting incident took place in Tumbler Ridge of British Columbia in Canada where the alleged shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar killed her mother and half-brother and then shot dead six more persons including children at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.

According to WSJ, OpenAI was aware of some of the conversations the alleged shooter had with ChatGPT involving violent scenarios, but the company chose to not flag it to the authorities. In their response to WSJ, OpenAI said that they contacted Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) after the shooting incident.

The mass shooting incident sent shockwaves across Canada as citizens demanded accountability from social media and AI platforms.

“Canadians expect online platforms, including OpenAI, to have robust safety protocols and escalation practices to help protect public safety,” added Solomon.

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