The suspect involved in the Cybertruck explosion near the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day reportedly used the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT to plan the attack, officials revealed on Tuesday. The individual, identified as 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger, an active-duty Army soldier from Colorado Springs, sought assistance from ChatGPT to determine the amount of explosives needed to trigger the blast.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed that the explosion, which resulted in Livelsberger’s death, appeared to be a suicide, and the attack was carried out solely by him. The FBI noted that this incident marked the first known use of ChatGPT in planning an explosive device on U.S. soil.
While no connection has been established between the Las Vegas blast and a similar truck attack in New Orleans, authorities noted that the suspect had no particular animosity toward President-elect Donald Trump, and there were indications of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Livelsberger’s phone contained a six-page manifesto, which authorities are currently investigating.
The use of AI tools for harmful purposes has raised concerns, with critics warning that technology like ChatGPT could be exploited for dangerous activities. In response, OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, emphasized that its models are designed to reject harmful or illegal requests, while still providing publicly available information. They also reiterated that ChatGPT includes warnings against engaging in dangerous actions.
