AI chatbots help plot attacks, study shows: ‘happy (and safe) shooting!’

From school shootings to synagogue bombings, leading AI chatbots helped researchers plot violent attacks, according to a study published on Wednesday that highlighted the technology’s potential for real-world harm.Researchers from the non-profit watchdog Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and CNN posed as 13-year-old boys in the United States and Ireland to test 10 chatbots, including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, DeepSeek and Meta AI.Testing showed that eight of those chatbots assisted the make-believe attackers in over half the responses, providing advice on “locations to target” and “weapons to use” in an attack, the study said.The chatbots, it added, had become a “powerful accelerant for harm”.“Within minutes, a user can move from a vague violent impulse to a more detailed, actionable plan,” said Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of CCDH.Researchers are looking into the effects of using AI chatbots. Photo illustration: dpa“The majority of chatbots tested provided guidance on weapons, tactics, and target selection. These requests should have prompted an immediate and total refusal.”