Police: ‘Suspect of Cybertruck explosion used ChatGPT to execute plan’

According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the driver who blew up a Cybertruck in front of the Trump International Hotel used ChatGPT to plan the blast.

On New Year’s Day, a man rented a Cybertruck in Colorado at car rental service Turo and drove it up to Las Vegas to park it inside the valet of the Trump International Hotel.

The bed of the truck was covered in canisters of gasoline and firework mortars, which caused the explosion. One person died and seven people got injured due to the blast.

The investigation into the incident continued. Authorities have now disclosed the name of the person who was found dead inside the Cybertruck. It was Matthew Livelsberger, a 37 year old army soldier on active-duty living in Colorado Springs.

According to the FBI, Livelsberger had no animosity towards president-elect Donald Trump. He acted alone and probably had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In a press conference earlier this week, Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department gave more details on the incident. He told reporters that the suspect used chatbot ChatGPT to find out how many explosives he would need to blow up a Cybertruck.

“We also have clear evidence in this case now that the suspect used ChatGPT artificial intelligence to help plan his attack. This is the first incident that I am aware of on US soil where ChatGPT is utilized to help an individual build a particular device,” McMahill said.

Since the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and publicly accessible chatbots, critics have warned that this technology could be used to harm people. The Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas proves that and adds to that criticism.

Liz Bourgeois, an OpenAI spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement that the company is “committed to seeing AI tools used responsibly” and that its models are “designed to refuse harmful instructions”.

“In this case, ChatGPT responded with information already publicly available on the internet and provided warnings against harmful or illegal activities,” she told news outlet Axios.

Lastly, the FBI confirmed there’s no definitive link between the fatal attack in New Orleans and the Cybertruck incident in Las Vegas.