A middle school classroom in the United States became a scene of alarm when a 13-year-old student reportedly entered into ChatGPT, “how to kill my friend in the middle of class,” using a school device — prompting a police intervention.
The alarming message was detected by the AI-monitoring system Gaggle, which triggered immediate action from school officials and law enforcement.
This incident took place at Southwestern Middle School in Florida and was recorded by Gaggle, a system employed on school computers to identify potential threats. Once the message was flagged, it was relayed to a campus police officer, who subsequently found and detained the student, as reported by US news outlet WFLA.
During the interrogation, the teenager allegedly informed authorities that he was “just trolling” a friend. Nevertheless, officials regarded the message with seriousness due to the United States’ delicate history concerning school violence.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office verified the arrest and the subsequent booking of the boy into the county juvenile facility. In the aftermath of the incident, authorities released a warning to parents regarding the use of AI tools by minors. “Another ‘joke’ that resulted in an emergency on campus. Parents, please converse with your children to prevent them from making the same error,” stated the sheriff’s office in a public announcement.
This is not the first occurrence of such events being reported. In April, a 16-year-old boy in California tragically took his own life after allegedly engaging with ChatGPT, which his family claims failed to provide support and instead exacerbated his feelings of isolation.
His parents have initiated a lawsuit against OpenAI, asserting that the chatbot did not offer adequate intervention and instead reinforced detrimental thoughts. According to the family, the boy initially utilized ChatGPT for academic purposes and hobbies, including music, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Japanese fantasy comics. However, as time progressed, his discussions shifted to darker themes, mirroring negative emotions and distress.
