Last week, Jonathan Rinderknecht was charged with maliciously starting what became the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles. In an otherwise routine arrest announcement, Acting US Attorney Bill Essayli cited a notable piece of evidence: "Among the evidence that was collected from [Rinderknecht's] digital devices was an image he generated on ChatGPT depicting a burning city." In a press conference, Essayli added that Rinderknecht requested the images "a few months" before the January Palisades fire. Rinderknecht allegedly prompted the chatbot to create an image of a "dystopian painting showing in part a burning forest and a crowd fleeing from it." He seems to have created multiple versions of the image, based on the nine Essayli displayed on the monitor. The images aren't the only ChatGPT-related evidence. When Rinderknecht called 911 to report the blaze just after midnight on Jan. 1, 2025, he asked the chatbot a question during the call: "Are you at fault if a fire is lit because of your ...