B.C. Premier David Eby is set to meet the CEO of OpenAI Thursday, three weeks after the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge.
The meeting follows the revelation that OpenAI banned shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar from using its ChatGPT chatbot last June due to worrisome interactions, but did not alert law enforcement before the killings last month.
CEO Sam Altman met with Federal Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon Wednesday, reportedly agreeing to take several actions to bolster safety, including providing a report outlining the new systems the firm is developing to identify high-risk offenders and policy violators.
At a news conference last month, the premier said OpenAI “tragically missed the mark,” presenting information it had on Van Rootselaar.
“It illustrates why these companies cannot be trusted to set their own reporting thresholds. And especially to set their own thresholds where there are no apparent consequences for not meeting them,” said Eby.
He called for a national standard for a minimum threshold for reporting risk.
“To make sure that the protection of the community, the protection of children, comes before the interests of shareholders.”
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OpenAI has said new protocols would have resulted in Van Rootselaar’s interactions being flagged to police, but Solomon says the tragedy “demands answers and stronger safeguards when powerful AI technologies are involved.”
Solomon says the actions Altman has agreed to take include establishing a direct point of contact with the RCMP and implementing safety protocols that direct people “experiencing distress” to appropriate local services.
B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma says more needs to be asked of Ottawa around regulating and overseeing platforms like OpenAI.
The Altman meetings come after B.C.’s chief coroner, Dr. Jatinder Baidwan, on Tuesday announced an inquest into the shootings that will consider the role of artificial intelligence.
Sharma said she hopes OpenAI will participate in the inquest and share whatever it knows.
Eby is expected to meet with Altman in the afternoon.
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