Investigating a New Year’s Day Explosion Using Generative AI and a Black Hole Search: Matt Livelsberger and the Las Vegas Metro Police

It seems like the information he was looking for is unrestricted and could be obtained through a wide range of search methods. Still, the suspect’s use of a generative AI tool and the investigators’ ability to track those requests and present them as evidence take questions about AI chatbot guardrails, safety, and privacy out of the hypothetical realm and into our reality.

The officials are trying to figure out what happened and whether or not the explosion was the result of a deflagration that traveled slower than a high explosives detonation that would have caused more damage. Some of the questions are related to the muzzle flash of a gunshot, which caused a larger explosion of fireworks and other explosives inside the truck, according to the available evidence.

Several slides were released by the Las Vegas Metro Police showing questions he had posed to investigators about explosives, detonation methods, and how to purchase guns, explosives, and fireworks legally.

Nearly a week after a New Year’s Day explosion in front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, local law enforcement released more information about their investigation, including what they know so far about the role of generative AI in the incident.

Matthew Livelsberger, a soldier in the US Army who was active in the military, had a “possible manifesto” on his phone as well as an email to a podcaster and other letters. They showed video of him pouring fuel on the truck while he was stopped at a stoplight and driving to the hotel. The officials said he did not have a criminal record, and that he was not being surveilled or investigated.

Last week officials said Livelsberger left notes that said the explosion was meant to be a wake up call for the nation’s troubles.

During a roughly half-hour-long news conference, Las Vegas police and federal law enforcement officials unveiled new details about the New Year’s Day explosion.

A Game-Changing Event Using Generative AI in Las Vegas: The Killing of Matthew Livelsberger, 37, in a Las Vegas Hotel

“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,” he said. It’s a worrying moment.

Kevin McMahill, sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, called the use of generative AI a “game-changer” and said the department was sharing information with other law enforcement agencies.

An investigation of Livelsberger’s searches through ChatGPT indicate he was looking for information on explosive targets, the speed at which certain rounds of ammunition would travel and whether fireworks were legal in Arizona.

A laptop, cellphone and watch are still under review nearly a week after 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger fatally shot himself just before the truck blew up.

Seven people were injured in the explosion, but there was no damage to the hotel. Livelsberger acted on his own, authorities said.

There are political grievances, societal problems and domestic and international issues addressed in Livelsberger’s letters. He wrote that the U.S. was “terminally ill and headed toward collapse.”

Investigators had been trying to determine if Livelsberger wanted to make a political point, given the Tesla and the hotel bearing the president-elect’s name.