A North Carolina woman has been accused of using ChatGPT to research deadly drugs before trying to poison her husband’s drink.
As artificial intelligence becomes more intertwined in our lives, stories have emerged about how chatbots have answered some concerning prompts. Now, it has been revealed through official documents AI has been used in an attempted murder case.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced Friday 43-year-old Cheryl Harris Gates was arrested for attempted murder, among other charges.
Gates spiked her husband’s Celsius energy drink with prescription drugs “with the intention of causing a black out condition or incapacitation,” according to an arrest warrant obtained by multiple news outlets.
She had used ChatGPT, a popular AI chatbot from OpenAI, to “investigate lethal and incapacitating prescription drug combinations and the effects of oleander, ricin, and fox glove poisoning,” People reported, citing an officer’s affidavit.
It’s unclear what type of drugs were ultimately used in the alleged poisoning.
Local outlet WBTV reported, citing official documents, Gates specifically researched drug combinations that “could be ingested and injected.”
The Independent has reached out to OpenAI for comment.
Gates’ husband gave proof of his “incapacitation” and a “foreign controlled substance” in his drink twice over the summer, once in July and again in August, according to the affidavit.
Syringes, a capsule filling kit, medical droppers, scales and medications were found at Gates’ home, police say.
The state of Gates’ relationship with her husband is unclear. The affidavit said the two were living separately, and local outlet WSOC-TV reported its sources say he is her ex. The Independent has reached out to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for additional information.
Police say Gates is an employee at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, and several reports said she was a therapist there. The Independent has reached out to the school district asking whether Gates still works there.
“It’s definitely surprising that somebody in that capacity that is there to help others would do something, that type of crime, especially,” Quemella Holland, a parent in the school district, told WSOC-TV.
Another parent, Laurie Leebrick, said, “She never should have been around kids at all. They should have done better background checks.”
Gates is also charged with Contaminate Food or Drink to Render One Mentally Incapacitated or Physically Helpless, as well as stalking and property damage. Police say the crimes Gates is accused of happened off school property and didn’t involve any student, teacher or facility member.
Gates, who has been denied bond, was appointed a public defender, WBTV reported, without giving details about the lawyer.
