Cybertruck bomber used ChatGPT to plan attack

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department have revealed the man who died during the bombing used AI to plan out the attack.

The US soldier who exploded a Telsa Cybertruck outside of a Trump Hotel used ChatGPT to carry out the attack, officials have revealed.

In a press conference on Tuesday local time, Las Vegas Police Sheriff Kevin McMahill said the bomber Matthew Livelsberger gathered information via the AI platform ahead of the Las Vegas attack on New Year’s Day – which injured seven people.

He said Mr Livelsberger used ChatGPT to find information on explosive targets, as well as the speed at which certain rounds of ammunition would travel.

The explosion injured seven people. Picture: Supplied

Officials said he used the platform to gather information about explosions. Picture: iStock

He also asked the platform whether fireworks were legal in Arizona.

“We knew that AI was going to change the game at some point or another in really all of our lives,” Mr McMahill said.

“This is the first incident that I’m aware of on US soil where ChatGPT is used to help an individual build a particular device.”

Mr Livelsberger was identified by police via his tattoos after his body was badly burned in the attack. Picture: Ethan Miller/Getty

In a statement provided to news.com.au, a spokeswoman for ChatGPT developer OpenAI said the company was working with officials to assist in their investigation after the discovery.

“Our models are designed to refuse harmful instructions and minimise harmful content. In this case, ChatGPT responded with information already publicly available on the internet and provided warnings against harmful or illegal activities,” the OpenAI spokeswoman said.

The police update comes after it was revealed Mr Livelsberg – a 37-year-old member of the US Army – left behind two notes, which have since been recovered from his phone that was found inside the destroyed vehicle.

Mr Livelsberger’s passport was also found inside the truck. Picture: LVMPD

In the notes, Livelsberger insisted his motive behind his suicide and the subsequent explosion was not terror-related.

“This was not a terrorist attack, it was a wake up call. Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives,” the note in the bomber’s notes app read.

“Why did I personally do it now? I needed to cleanse my mind of the brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took.”

In another letter, Livelsberger warned fellow military personnel, along with all Americans, to “wake up”.

“We are being led by weak and feckless leadership who only serve to enrich themselves,” he wrote, according to the police.

“We are the United States of America, the best country people to ever exist! But right now we are terminally ill and headed toward collapse.”

Images from security camera footage of a Cybertruck exploding in front of Trump International Hotel. Picture: X

Livelsberger hired the Cybertruck in Colorado before driving to the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day.

Just before 9am local time, he parked the truck by the front entrance of the hotel before it burst into flames.

Police said there was a gunshot wound to the head of the driver, with Livelsberger left “unrecognisable” during the explosion.

Who was Matthew Livelsberger?

Authorities have told reporters they have been left perplexed by the incident, as Livelsberger was an active member of the army with no criminal history – described by his colleagues as a good soldier who raised no obvious concerns.

A serving service member from Colorado, Livelsberger was based in Germany but in the US for the holiday season, officials said.

Matthew Livelsberger was the driver of the Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas. Picture: Supplied

Livelsberger’s ID recovered from the explosion. Picture: LVMPD

He lived in Colorado Springs and was married to social worker Sara Livelsberger.

Mr Livelsberger was a member of 10th Special Forces Group, and had recently deployed in Europe, defence officials told the Wall St Journal. He also served in Afghanistan, Congo and Tajikistan.

The defence officials said he had earned a Bronze Star with valour.

He had served for 19 years in either the active duty or reserve, the officials said, and had no disciplinary problems.

Two relatives of Livelsberger confirmed to CBS he had rented the Cybertruck but were unaware of him having any involvement in the incident. One relative said Livelsberger’s wife had not heard from him in several days.

His uncle Dean Livelsberger told The Independent that his nephew was ‘100 per cent a patriot’, and described him as a ‘Rambo-type.’

“He used to have all patriotic stuff on Facebook, he was 100 per cent loving the country,” he said.

“He loved Trump, and he was always a very, very patriotic soldier, a patriotic American. It’s one of the reasons he was in Special Forces for so many years. It wasn’t just one tour of duty.”

Livelsberger’s LinkedIn profile also states he has a proficiency in French and is an expert in aircraft systems.