OpenAI CEO Issues Apology To Tumbler Ridge Victims

Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images via BBC.j

On Apr. 23, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman delivered an apology to the victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting, which was the deadliest in Canada since the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre. 

According to CBC, OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has faced criticism for not alerting police about account of the shooter, even though they had a past history of initiating conversations with ChatGPT related to gun violence. “I am deeply sorry that we did not alert law enforcement,” Altman wrote in his apology.

Altman explained the delay between the tragedy and his apology by saying that he, Mayor Darryl Krakowka, and Premier David Eby believed that the community deserved time to grieve. “We agreed a public apology was necessary, but that time was also needed to respect the community as you grieved,” he stated in the letter. 

Altman also noted that while an apology wouldn’t be enough, he believed it was still needed. “While I know words can never be enough, I believe an apology is necessary to recognize the harm and irreversible loss your community has suffered,” he said in the letter. “No one should ever have to endure a tragedy like this. I cannot imagine anything worse in this world than losing a child.” 

Furthermore, he discussed future steps with the Mayor and Premier to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. “​I reaffirm the commitment I made to the Mayor and the Premier to find ways to prevent tragedies like this in the future,” the letter reads. “Going forward, our focus will continue to be on working with all levels of government to help ensure something like this never happens again.”