You should think twice before sending your ChatGPT prompts because you could land yourself in serious trouble.
Authorities have issued a warning after users of OpenAI’s chatbot have left them facing similar charges.
Multiple teenagers in Florida have learned the hard way after allegedly conducting searches that caught the attention of law enforcement.
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The Marion County Sheriff’s Office announced a 17-year-old had been arrested in October. He has been accused of lying about being abducted by four Hispanic men, and even shooting himself, in a ploy that sparked an Amber Alert.
ChatGPT searchers were allegedly found on the boy’s laptop about Mexican cartels and collecting his blood without causing pain, the sheriff’s office alleges.
And in a separate case, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office arrested a 13-year-old child in Deland, close to Orlando and Daytona Beach, who they claimed searched ‘how to kill my friend in the middle of class’ into ChatGPT.
The sheriff’s office said officers responded to the school on September 26 after Gaggle, a school-safety platform that monitors school-related accounts and flags concerning content, alerted a deputy at Southwestern Middle School.
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When the 13-year-old was asked about the prompt, he said he ‘was trolling a friend who was annoying him’, according to the sheriff’s office.
The swift rise of ChatGPT, an AI tool now used by millions seeking guidance, quick responses, and analytical insight, has transformed how people access information.
"Parents, please talk to your kids so they don't make the same mistake," the sheriff's office said, via People.
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Its growing influence raises urgent questions about accuracy, accountability, and the role such systems will play in our day-to-day lives, especially for young people.
AI companies have put guardrails in place to keep people from getting harmful information, like how to make a bomb or hurt someone, and they’ve added limits on the kinds of content ChatGPT and similar tools are allowed to produce.
In other news, ChatGPT launched a new ‘group chat’ feature that divided opinion among its users.
On the tech firm’s website, it explained: “Today, we’re beginning to pilot a new experience in a few regions that makes it easy for people to collaborate with each other - and with ChatGPT - in the same conversation. With group chats, you can bring friends, family, or coworkers into a shared space to plan, make decisions, or work through ideas together.
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“Whether you’re organizing a group dinner or drafting an outline with coworkers, ChatGPT can help. Group chats are separate from your private conversations, and your personal ChatGPT memory is never shared with anyone in the chat.
While some users welcomed the update, others theorised that it doesnt solve any issues. A fair few also pondered how the group chat feature may be used in unexpected ways.