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Vegas Truck Bomber Used AI For Attack First Set At Grand Canyon

Crime and Justice News

Law enforcement authorities are disclosing more about the Tesla Cybertruck explosion in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas and the man behind it, Matthew Livelsberger. Investigators have recovered a six-page document on Livelsberger's phone that he describes as a "manifesto." This is in addition to two letters recovered from Livelsberger's phone. The FBI has now confirmed that a letter sent to the Shawn Ryan Show podcast was written by Livelsberger, Scripps News reports. Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said Livelsberger believed he was being followed by the government all the way from Colorado. The generative AI platform ChatGPT was used to plan the attack, Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said. He showed prompts Livelsberger gave the AI through the course of his planning, including things like the amount of explosives he would need, where to buy fireworks and how much to buy, and how fireworks compare to TNT and other explosives. Livelsberger asked the AI whether the velocity of a bullet would be enough to ignite the explosives. He also probed the AI on how to buy a firearm without providing any personal identifying information.


Questions were raised about whether or not Livelsberger's prompts to ChatGPT could have been flagged by an agency based on searches. McMahill does not believe that capability exists. A spokesperson from OpenAI, the creators of the ChatGPT said, "Our models are designed to refuse harmful instructions and minimize harmful content. In this case, ChatGPT responded with information already publicly available on the internet and provided warnings against harmful or illegal activities." Police showed video of Livelsberger pouring racing fuel in the back of his Cybertruck, where investigators said there was more than 60 pounds of explosive material. Investigators found three .50 caliber casings that were consistent with the ballistic evidence that Livelsberger used a firearm to commit suicide directly prior to the explosion. Livelsberger initially planned to carry out his bombing at the glass skywalk of the Grand Canyon. Investigators do not know why he changed his mind to come to Las Vegas, or why he chose the Trump hotel specifically. Police said the six-page “manifesto” recovered from Livelsberger’s phone outlines a litany of political, social and cultural grievances and shows a “constant evolution” of his plans. “He also says he has graphic encounters from his military experience that replay in his head over and over and that now he feels like he’s a shell of a human being with nothing to live for," Koren said.

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A daily report co-sponsored by Arizona State University, Criminal Justice Journalists, and the National Criminal Justice Association

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