OpenAI · Society · Safety and security
ChatGPT told a student who damaged 17 cars to stop talking about it and warned that messages could become evidence
Ryan Schaefer, a Missouri State University student, wrote to ChatGPT about ten minutes after damaging 17 cars in a campus parking lot in August 2025. According to a 30-page transcript The Smoking Gun obtained through a public records request, the chatbot first condemned the vandalism, then told him to stop discussing it, not to return to the scene and to stay calm, and warned that messages could become evidence. Police found the conversation during a phone search he consented to. Schaefer pleaded guilty to felony property damage and in July was sentenced to five years of probation.
Sources
- The Smoking Gun, “ChatGPT Offered “Damage Control” Tips To Vandal”, (thesmokinggun.com)
- The Smoking Gun, “Student Pleads Guilty After ChatGPT Confess”, (thesmokinggun.com)
- The Smoking Gun, “Cops: Accused Vandal Confessed To ChatGPT”, (thesmokinggun.com)
About this story
This story was posted on Instagram by @jarrus.tech on Sept. 29, 2026.
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This story in Turkish: ChatGPT, 17 araca zarar veren bir öğrenciye olayı konuşmamasını ve mesajların delil olabileceğini söyledi
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