Description: Federal prosecutors allege that Jonathan Rinderknecht, arrested on 10/08/2025, consulted ChatGPT for arson-related imagery and legal advice before and after deliberately starting the Palisades fire in Los Angeles on 01/01/2025. The blaze, which reignited on 01/07/2025, killed 12 people and destroyed 6,873 buildings. Prosecutors say he generated a dystopian fire image with ChatGPT and later asked about liability for fires caused by cigarettes.
Editor Notes: Timeline note: Although the Palisades fire itself was allegedly set on 01/01/2025, we use 07/11/2024 as the incident date because this is when prosecutors say the suspect first used ChatGPT in connection with the event (reportedly generating an arson-themed image months before the fire). This marks the earliest point at which the AI system was implicated in the chain of events. Federal authorities announced Rinderknecht's arrest and charges on 10/08/2025.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: OpenAI developed an AI system deployed by Jonathan Rinderknecht, which harmed General public of California , General public of Los Angeles , Pacific Palisades community and Victims of the Palisades Fire.
Alleged implicated AI system: ChatGPT
Incident Stats
Risk Subdomain
A further 23 subdomains create an accessible and understandable classification of hazards and harms associated with AI
4.3. Fraud, scams, and targeted manipulation
Risk Domain
The Domain Taxonomy of AI Risks classifies risks into seven AI risk domains: (1) Discrimination & toxicity, (2) Privacy & security, (3) Misinformation, (4) Malicious actors & misuse, (5) Human-computer interaction, (6) Socioeconomic & environmental harms, and (7) AI system safety, failures & limitations.
- Malicious Actors & Misuse
Entity
Which, if any, entity is presented as the main cause of the risk
Human
Timing
The stage in the AI lifecycle at which the risk is presented as occurring
Post-deployment
Intent
Whether the risk is presented as occurring as an expected or unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
Intentional
Incident Reports
Reports Timeline
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Federal authorities on Wednesday announced the arrest of a Florida man they suspect deliberately started the Palisades fire, which tore across Los Angeles' west side this year.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, allegedly conducted several incrimin…
Variants
A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.
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