In the wake of a school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, which resulted in eight fatalities, including five children, Canada’s Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon has summoned senior staff from OpenAI to discuss their safety protocols. Solomon said: “We will have a sit-down meeting to have an explanation of their safety protocols and when they escalate and their thresholds of escalation to police.” The account of the shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, was flagged by OpenAI months prior to the incident, but the company did not report it to authorities, citing that the account activity did not meet their criteria for reporting. The incident has raised significant concerns regarding the regulation of AI chatbots and the Canadian government’s ongoing efforts to address online harms.
