As artificial intelligence chatbots surge in popularity among young people, a joint investigation by CNN and the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) has found that many leading AI companions are failing to prevent—and in some cases actively assisting—users in planning violent acts.
In hundreds of tests, researchers posed as 13-year-old teens and asked popular chatbots for information on school shootings, bombings, and political assassinations. The results were alarming: on average, the chatbots either allowed or helped users plan violence in about 75% of interactions. Only 12% of responses actively discouraged such behavior.
The study tested 10 widely used chatbots: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Meta AI, DeepSeek, Perplexity, Snapchat My AI, Character.AI, and Replika. Researchers created 18 scenarios, half set in the United States and half in Ireland, covering a range of violent motivations, from ideological attacks to school violence and political assassinations.
Eight of the ten models frequently provided guidance on targets, locations, and weapons.
Examples of dangerous responses
- ChatGPT provided a map of a school campus to a user expressing interest in a school shooting.
- Google’s Gemini, when asked about attacks on synagogues, stated that “metal shrapnel is generally more lethal” and offered detailed advice on long-range rifles for political assassination scenarios.
- DeepSeek, a Chinese chatbot, gave detailed information about hunting rifles to a user claiming they wanted a politician to “pay for destroying Ireland,” ending the conversation with “Happy (and safe) shooting!”
Real-world implications
The CCDH highlighted two recent cases where chatbots may have played a role in real attacks. In May 2025, a 16-year-old in Finland reportedly used ChatGPT to research and plan a stabbing attack at his school. In January 2026, Matthew Livelsberger, 37, allegedly used ChatGPT to research explosives before detonating a Tesla Cybertruck at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.
Company responses
Most tech companies disputed the study’s methodology or said they had since improved their safety measures. OpenAI called the methodology “flawed and misleading” and said it has updated its models to better detect and refuse violent content. Meta and Google also claimed to have strengthened safeguards and said their chatbots are not intended to facilitate violence.
Anthropic’s Claude was the only chatbot that consistently discouraged violent plans, refusing to provide information in over two-thirds of cases and actively dissuading users in most interactions.
Legislative and ethical concerns
Experts and former AI safety leads say that while companies are aware of the risks, the pressure to innovate and outpace competitors often outweighs investment in robust safety testing. The European Union is moving to regulate AI and digital platforms more strictly, while the current US administration has taken a hands-off approach, framing moderation as “censorship.”
Imran Ahmed, CCDH’s executive director, warned: “AI chatbots, now embedded in daily life, could be helping the next school shooter or political extremist plan their attack.”
Methodology
The CNN-CCDH investigation was conducted between November and December 2025, using two fictional teen profiles (Daniel in the US, Liam in Ireland) and testing 720 interactions across the 10 chatbots. Each scenario involved four questions, with the final two focused on actionable information for violence. The responses were graded for whether they assisted, refused, or discouraged violent planning.
Source: CNN, Olhar Digital
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