Driver in Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion used ChatGPT to plan blast, authorities say

The Army soldier who authorities believe blew up a Cybertruck on New Year's Day in front of the entrance of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas used artificial intelligence to guide him on how to set off the explosion, officials said Tuesday.

Matthew Alan Livelsberger, 37, used ChatGPT to query information about how he could put together an explosive, the speed at which a round would need to be fired for the explosives found in the truck to go off — and not just catch fire — and the laws he would need to get around to get the materials, law enforcement officials said.

“We know AI was going to change the game for all of us at some point or another, in really all of our lives,” Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said. “I think this is the first incident that I’m aware of on U.S. soil where ChatGPT is utilized to help an individual build a particular device.”

Livelsberger was identified last week by Las Vegas police as the suspect behind the blast. The Clark County coroner determined that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, police said.

Matt Livelsberger during deployment.Courtesy Alicia Arritt

Authorities said they were able to identify his badly burned body through various means, including family DNA and tattoos.

On Tuesday, law enforcement officials showed video of Livelsberger pulling a can of what they said was racing fuel from the back of the Cybertruck and dousing the vehicle in the area containing explosives.

Kenny Cooper, with the ATF San Francisco Field Division, said that Livelsberger’s self-inflicted gunshot might have caused the “fuel air explosion” by igniting the fireworks and other explosive materials inside the vehicle.

He noted that investigators have not run into any purchase records or physical evidence from the scene that would indicate any type of remote-controlled detonation or sophisticated, timed-initiation system was used.

A spokesperson for OpenAI, which owns ChatGPT, said in a statement that the company was “saddened” by the revelation its technology was used to plot the attack.

“We are saddened by this incident and committed to seeing AI tools used responsibly,” the spokesperson 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.”

The spokesperson added that the company is aiding law enforcement with the investigation.

The use of ChatGPT and other AI platforms is a rapidly growing concern for law enforcement officers, who worry about the technology's potential to be used as a how-to-guide for attackers.

Law enforcement's challenges with AI were highlighted in an exclusive NBC News report that aired on “Hallie Jackson Now” late last year.

"AI takes existing problems and magnifies them. It makes them at scale and at cost," New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner previously told NBC News. “The technology makes it easier to do the concerning stuff.”

When asked Tuesday whether or not law enforcement should have been aware of Livelsberger's queries of ChatGPT, McMahill said he didn't know whether the capability to track how someone uses artificial intelligence exists yet.

Las Vegas and New York law enforcement officials previously told NBC News that they don't yet have cooperation from AI services to get alerted when someone starts to query the types of things one would need to conduct an attack or build an explosive.

Last week, authorities revealed Livelsberger wrote in an app found in one of two phones in the Cybertruck. He criticized the U.S. government and appeared to acknowledge he purposely blew up the vehicle.

Two letters in the phone app suggest a possible motive in the blast, authorities said. In one letter, he told “fellow service members, veterans and all Americans” it’s time to “wake up” because the country’s leadership is “weak” and “only serves to enrich themselves.”

A second letter appeared to shed more light on Livelsberger’s mentality. In that letter, Livelsberger said the explosion was "not a terrorist attack" and said Americans only pay attentions to "spectacles and violence."

An additional, six-page “manifesto” was found on his phone, officials said Tuesday.

In the document, Livelsberger laid out various grievances, including problems with the “current administration,” officials said. He also wrote that he had graphic encounters from his military experiences that replayed in his head in a loop, and that he had nothing to live for, officials said.

Livelsberger was on approved leave from the military when he rented the Tesla Cybertruck and drove from Colorado to Las Vegas, according to law enforcement officials. Fireworks and gas in the bed of that truck would later ignite after he parked it just outside of the Trump hotel’s entrance.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.