Arson suspect arrested in the US, he generated images of the fire in ChatGPT and consulted a chatbot

Federal law enforcement officers have arrested Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, of Florida, on suspicion of arson, which caused a massive fire in California called the Palisades wildfire. According to investigators, he may have created an image of the city on fire in an AI application several months before the incident, California Attorney General Bill Essely said.

The center of the fire was named the Lachman Fire. Initially contained, the fire flared up again and spread to more than 23,000 acres in the Pacific Palisades, Topanga, and Malibu areas, destroying more than 6,000 structures and killing 12 people.

According to the Justice Department, evidence in the case includes an image of a burning city that Rinderknecht allegedly created on ChatGPT months before the fire. Prosecutors say he asked an AI generator to create "a dystopian image of a burning forest and people fleeing from it."

The investigation also cites surveillance video, eyewitness accounts and cellphone data that confirm his presence near the start of the fire. According to the investigation, on New Year's Eve, Rinderknecht dropped off a taxi service passenger near the Skull Rock trail, after which he walked around, filming a video and listening to French rap, the clip of which shows trash being set on fire. After midnight, he allegedly lit the grass on fire and called 911, asking ChatGPT: "Are you to blame if the fire started because of your cigarettes?"

The Department of Justice emphasizes that the Palisades wildfire is one of the largest disasters in California history. The investigation believes that Rinderknecht's actions triggered this massive fire.