Cody Wilson Unveils AI-Designed Handgun

The WASP, a 3D-printed .22 caliber pistol, utilizes a custom AI model to bypass mainstream design restrictions.

Updated on Oct. 16, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence

Bold flat-color editorial illustration featuring a geometric silhouette of a pistol barrel on a frame, symbolizing illicit AI-designed manufacturing. — Cody Wilson has released a handgun designed by a custom AI model capable of bypassing mainstream safety restrictions on firearm manufacturing. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Cody Wilson has unveiled the WASP, a single-shot .22 caliber handgun designed by a custom AI model named GatGPT. The firearm is constructed by attaching a pistol barrel to a 3D-printed, spring-loaded box and lacks a serial number.

Why it matters

This development highlights the intersection of generative AI and illicit manufacturing, as specialized models bypass the safety restrictions common in mainstream AI services like Google Gemini. It further complicates the legal landscape surrounding ghost guns, following a series of recent judicial and law enforcement actions.

The WASP is a single-shot handgun chambered for .22 caliber ammunition. It is built by mounting a pistol barrel onto a 3D-printed, spring-loaded housing.

The players

Cody Wilson

A developer who advocates for firearm access as a fundamental human right.

DEFCAD

A digital library containing 3D-printable firearm files used to train the GatGPT model.

Google Gemini

A mainstream AI service that currently restricts the generation of designs for 3D-printed weapons.

The details

The GatGPT AI model generates design specifications after being trained on the DEFCAD gun file library. To assemble the weapon, a user attaches a functional pistol barrel to a 3D-printed frame acting as a spring-loaded firing mechanism. Unlike mainstream AI platforms that block requests for firearm designs, this specialized model produces instructions for hardware that lacks serial numbers.

March 2026: Two individuals were convicted of operating a ghost gun factory.
August 2026: A federal judge struck down an ATF ruling concerning firearm part kits.
October 2026: Cody Wilson unveiled the AI-designed WASP handgun.

The Tech Race

The release follows recent federal court activity regarding the regulation of firearm components. It highlights a divergence where private AI models, trained on niche datasets like DEFCAD, bypass the safety protocols now standard in commercial AI tools.

This project illustrates the increasing ease of accessing technical designs for unregulated firearms through custom AI models. As these models iterate, users of 3D printing equipment may encounter fewer barriers to producing custom, non-serialized hardware.

The takeaway

The trajectory of AI design capabilities suggests that hardware generation will become increasingly accessible through non-commercial models. Watch for potential regulatory responses to AI-generated manufacturing instructions following the recent legal invalidation of ATF part kit rules.