Workers accused of bribery turned to ChatGPT for legal tips
EL.KZ Информационно-познавательный портал
More than 30 Romanian railway employees accused of running a bribery and ticket resale racket allegedly tried to crowdsource their legal strategy from ChatGPT, El.kz reports citing the Register.
Prosecutors in Bucharest have sent 33 staff from Romania's state rail operator to trial over claims they manipulated booking systems to lock sleeper and couchette seats, then quietly sold them off-the-books to passengers willing to pay cash.
According to local news, investigators say the workers used the personal data of students eligible for free rail travel to reserve seats that could later be flipped for profit.
The eyebrow-raising detail in the corruption probe is that once investigators began circling, court filings cited in Romanian press reports suggest that at least two of the accused individuals consulted ChatGPT to ask whether their alleged actions constituted financial harm.
Excerpts from conversations described as between an employee and the AI show questions focused less on innocence and more on legal technicalities. In one exchange, the worker allegedly asked: "Who establishes the financial damage if the injured party does not want compensation?" Another scenario reportedly posed to the chatbot questioned: "Does blocking seats in the reservation system represent damage if no financial loss can be proven?"
The exchanges also hint at mounting anxiety as investigators closed in. In one reported message, the user allegedly asked: "Why do the police call everyone to work and not to the police?" – a line that appears to reference internal workplace questioning rather than a formal summons. In another, they reportedly acknowledged investigators' awareness of specific activity, writing: "They already know that I, for example, blocked 17 places in the system."
The AI's replies, according to the published excerpts, focused on general legal theory rather than anything jurisdiction-specific. The chatbot reportedly explained: "If the damage concerns a private individual or company, they usually have to request compensation... If the damage concerns the state or a public institution, authorities may intervene even without a complaint."
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