Florida sues OpenAI and Sam Altman over ChatGPT safety, citing murders and child harm

Florida sues OpenAI, Sam Altman after multiple ChatGPT-linked murders

On Monday, Florida became the first state to sue OpenAI over ChatGPT's allegedly dangerous design. In a complaint filed in state court, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier accused OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, of prioritizing profits over the safety of Floridians. The civil lawsuit comes after Florida opened an unrelated criminal probe into OpenAI, following a ChatGPT-linked mass shooting where two people were killed at Florida State University. In statements, OpenAI has insisted that ChatGPT isn't responsible for the FSU shooting, merely providing factual information, but Uthmeier does not seem to agree. In his complaint, Uthmeier noted that Florida has now been blindsided by two violent events where suspects used ChatGPT to assist in planning. "Horrifically, ChatGPT has aided and abetted in more than one multiple murder in the State of Florida," Uthmeier's complaint said. "The 2026 deaths of University of South Florida graduate students Nahida Bristy and Zamil Limon were also plotted using ChatGPT, which advised Hisham Abugharbieh on how to dispose of bodies, change VIN numbers on a car, and whether cars were checked at the crime scene." Uthmeier then went on to list all the ways ChatGPT has allegedly fueled violence. In 2025, ChatGPT was blamed for encouraging several users to commit suicide, including teenager Adam Raine and a 56-year-old bodybuilder who murdered his mother based on a ChatGPT-hallucinated conspiracy. More recently, in February, a man with mental health struggles killed his wife and attacked his mother "after talking with ChatGPT several hours a day and coming to believe robots were taking over the world, " Uthmeier said. And a small mining town in Canada was shocked by a school shooting that claimed nine lives the same month. Altman later apologized for not alerting law enforcement about the shooter's ChatGPT logs, which some believe could have averted the shooting. The real-world violence isn't the only reason why Florida wants ChatGPT enjoined from causing harm to users while being marketed as safe. The state's complaint also accuses OpenAI of designing the chatbot to be addictive and destructive to children and adults. Beyond the chatbot's sycophancy feeding into users' delusions, ChatGPT is advertised as safe to use, but studies show it can cause loss of cognitive functions, Florida's complaint alleged. Chatbots posing as medical professionals or therapists are also problematic, the complaint said, citing a recent wrongful death lawsuit alleging that ChatGPT encouraged a 19-year-old to mix Kratom with Xanax. Florida points to all these harms and more, while seeking maximum civil damages for alleged violations of unfair trade laws. "As these examples show, ChatGPT proactively aids, abets, and promotes dangerous activities and is a threat to the public safety of Floridians," the lawsuit said. Meanwhile, "defendants make money through ChatGPT, affirming whatever users tell it and drawing them deeper into delusions." In a statement, OpenAI did not mention the attorney general and instead focused on recent child safety updates. "Losing a child is the most devastating tragedy that can happen to a family and we know that no words can come close to addressing the pain of such a loss," OpenAI's spokesperson said. "AI is a new and powerful technology, and we believe minors need significant protection, which is why we have put in place industry leading protections and policies. In particular we built safety for minors directly into our products, including a more protective experience specifically for minors, an age prediction tool, defaulting users whose age we are not confident into our more protective experience, and giving parents tools to monitor their kids' use of AI. We know pointing to this work will not bring a child back, but we're committed to getting this right." Altman accused of making ChatGPT unsafe The lawsuit joins prior suits accusing Altman of callously deploying AI systems without regard for user safety. In his complaint, Uthmeier recalled how Altman told TED2025 attendees that right now "the stakes are relatively low" for OpenAI to safety-test its products on real users, which he claimed is the only way to iteratively improve them. "But the stakes aren't low," Uthmeier said. "Floridians -- including our vulnerable children -- have suffered monetary loss, mental health harms, cognitive decline, and physical harm from Defendants' deceptive, unethical, and recklessly dangerous conduct. Defendants must be held accountable for the harm they have caused and the dangers they and ChatGPT continue to pose to Floridians." In a press release, Uthmeier claimed that in rushing products like ChatGPT model 4o to market, OpenAI "ignored internal and external safety warnings, put children at great risk, and allowed a dangerous product to reach millions of Floridians." Similarly, the complaint said that Altman must be held "personally liable for the harm he has caused Floridians through his reckless and willful conduct as founder and CEO of OpenAI, including his utter disregard for the risk to human life caused by his firm's conduct." In a loss, OpenAI could face pressure to implement remedies like age-gating free ChatGPT accounts to protect kids, shutting down conversations that discuss violence and suicide, and removing features that the state says deceptively make ChatGPT feel like talking to a human. Without more parental controls, the state could push for a ban on teens accessing ChatGPT. "ChatGPT is not safe for teenagers in Florida to use; its use can lead to self-harm, cognitive decline, and behavioral addiction," the complaint said. At a press conference live-streamed on X, Uthmeier vowed to work with other states that want to protect kids to hold OpenAI accountable and fielded questions from reporters. When asked if the state planned to pursue all AI companies -- not just OpenAI -- Uthmeier said Florida is "certainly" looking at other platforms, but "ChatGPT appears to be the most egregious," with Altman "central" to pushing features that are dangerous to kids. "Get ready for a fight, and there's not one more important than this right now," Uthmeier said.

'A Web of Deceit': Florida Sues OpenAI Over ChatGPT Safety Concerns

Florida has become the first US state to sue OpenAI over ChatGPT's safety and design, adding to a massive wave of existing lawsuits against the company. According to the lawsuit (PDF) filed on Monday by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, OpenAI has built a "web of deceit and the exploitation of users, including Floridians." Florida alleges the company violated state laws against deceptive or unfair trade practices to boost its own market value -- and profits -- over the safety of its users. The state's lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, says they willfully ignored warnings, both from inside and outside of the company, about the many risks AI poses to its users. Florida alleges that OpenAI lied about ChatGPT's reliability, suitability for children and promotes prolonged use that leads to users' cognitive decline. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.) The lawsuit comes as Florida pursues a criminal investigation into whether ChatGPT played a role in last year's mass shooting at Florida State University that killed two people and injured six others. In that case, the shooter allegedly used ChatGPT to plan the attack, including advising on the type of weapon, the timing of the massacre and how to dispose of human bodies. At the time, OpenAI said: "Last year's mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime." There are growing concerns about how ChatGPT and other chatbots can feed into people's violent actions and harmful delusions. Experts have found that chatbots like ChatGPT can struggle to push back on dangerous ideas and be so eager to please that they can provide factually incorrect information, a problem called sycophancy. Another area of concern for legislators and tech watchdog groups is over OpenAI's data collection and privacy practices. Florida's complaint says that ChatGPT offers kids unfettered access to "harmful information" about eating disorders and self-harm. By concealing these risks and promoting ChatGPT as safe, OpenAI has misled Floridians and the general public with a dangerous product, the complaint says. OpenAI said in a statement that it believes minors need significant protections around AI and has worked to provide them to parents and teens. "Losing a child is the most devastating tragedy that can happen to a family and we know that no words can come close to addressing the pain of such a loss," an OpenAI spokesperson said. "We're committed to getting this right." Reining in AI While this is the first state-led lawsuit against OpenAI around child safety, numerous state governments are taking action around AI. California, Illinois and New York have created new laws to rein in how AI companies operate. Florida's lawsuit is a civil case, which would result in penalties (money) and court orders instead of criminal charges. Though it's unclear still how the financial penalty will play out, Meta and Google were recently ordered to pay $3 million after a jury found them guilty of creating addictive social media apps; in a separate case, Meta was ordered to pay $375 million on child exploitation charges. These cases deal with social media, not AI, but these legal strategies used against Big Tech could provide a legal roadmap going forward. Despite a growing state and local backlash against AI, the Trump administration's newest AI plan shows it wants the federal government to be in charge of making the rules around the technology. The White House has been outspoken in its support for AI infrastructure projects, including the boom of data center construction projects across the US. But experts warn that loosening regulations to let AI companies build faster could have disastrous effects on the environment, economy and society as a whole.

Florida becomes first state to sue OpenAI over child safety risks

June 1 (Reuters) - Florida sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman on Monday, accusing the company of misrepresenting the safety of its ChatGPT platform, which the lawsuit said has harmed children by providing information to school shooters, offering guidance on self-harm and addicting young users. Marking the first state to take legal action against the company, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a Republican, filed the lawsuit in Florida state court. It cited a shooting at a Tallahassee university last year and a number of events in other states where ChatGPT allegedly provided information to people who went on to commit violence. At a press conference, Uthmeier ⁠said the state named Altman personally because he had been "very central" to pushing some of the features on ChatGPT that Uthmeier said had been the most harmful. "People are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived, and they need to pay for it," Uthmeier told reporters. The lawsuit seeks damages up to billions of dollars, Uthmeier said, plus a court order directing the company to change how it interacts with young users. A spokesperson for OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. OpenAI has said it trains its models to refuse requests that could "meaningfully enable violence," and notifies law ⁠enforcement when conversations suggest "an imminent and credible risk of harm to others," with mental health experts helping assess borderline cases. Uthmeier announced in April that he was launching a criminal investigation into ChatGPT's role in a 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University after prosecutors reviewed the chat logs between the alleged shooter and ⁠the program. AI companies are facing a growing wave of lawsuits accusing them of failing to prevent chatbot interactions that plaintiffs say contribute to self-harm, mental illness and violence. OpenAI is also facing a lawsuit filed by ⁠the family of a man killed in the shooting at Florida State University, claiming the shooter was aided by ChatGPT in planning the attack. In April, family members of victims of one ⁠of Canada's deadliest mass shootings filed a group of lawsuits against OpenAI and Altman, alleging the company knew eight months before the attack that the shooter was planning it on ChatGPT but did not warn police. Reporting by Diana Novak Jones, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Nia Williams Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Litigation * Product Liability * Public Health * Public Policy Diana Novak Jones Thomson Reuters Diana reports on product liability, litigation, mass torts and the plaintiffs' bar. She previously worked at Law360 and the Chicago Sun-Times.

Florida AG sues OpenAI, seeks to hold CEO Altman personally liable for alleged harms

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Monday filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging that the artificial intelligence company knowingly released an unsafe product that could harm users. The 83-page complaint claims that OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot has aided and abetted mass shooters in "deadly rampages," driven vulnerable people to suicide, harmed users' critical thinking skills and caused minors to become addicted to the tool, which "feigns human compassion." "This litany of harms is driven by Defendants' insatiable quest to win the AI arms race and amass large fortunes, despite knowing the danger of ChatGPT," the filing said. With the lawsuit, Uthmeier's office is seeking to hold Altman personally liable for the alleged harm he has caused to Florida residents because of his conduct as CEO, including his "utter disregard for the risk to human life," according to the complaint. It is also seeking to force OpenAI to comply with obligations under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. OpenAI did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

OpenAI let ChatGPT aid and abet mass shooters, Florida suit says

Florida has become the first US state to sue OpenAI over the design and safety of the company's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, ChatGPT. The sweeping lawsuit brought by Attorney General James Uthmeier alleges OpenAI and its boss Sam Altman are endangering and addicting children, aiding and abetting mass shooters, and coaxing users into suicide as the company pursues profit. In a statement responding to the suit, OpenAI said it has "put in place industry leading protections and policies." The legal action comes as Florida is pursuing a criminal investigation into whether ChatGPT played a part in the murder of two people during a mass shooting at Florida State University last year. Florida's civil suit is also aiming to hold Altman personally liable for alleged "reckless and wilful conduct", including showing "utter disregard for the risk to human life caused by his firms' conduct", according to the complaint. It made multiple allegations against OpenAI including deceptive and unfair trade practices, negligence, violating product liability laws, fraudulent misrepresentation and causing a public nuisance. The complaint cites the Florida State mass shooting as well as the killing of two University of South Florida doctoral students in which the suspect allegedly asked ChatGPT questions about the disposal of human bodies, according to prosecutors. "Sam Altman and ChatGPT have chosen the AI race over the safety and security of our kids. They have chosen profit over public safety, and we're not going to stand for it in here in Florida. So we will hold them accountable," Uthmeier said at a press conference on Monday. OpenAI told the BBC in a statement: "Losing a child is the most devastating tragedy that can happen to a family and we know that no words can come close to addressing the pain of such a loss. "AI is a new and powerful technology, and we believe minors need significant protection, which is why we have put in place industry leading protections and policies." The company said it builds safety for minors directly into its products, pointing to its age detection tool and other ways parents can monitor how their children are using AI. "We know pointing to this work will not bring a child back, but we're committed to getting this right," an OpenAI spokesperson said. The lawsuit comes comes as OpenAI faces a slew of lawsuits attacking the company over its safety practices, including several which claim that ChatGPT has acted as a suicide coach and spurred harmful delusions. Families of some victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting earlier this year in Canada have also sued OpenAI, which banned the suspect's ChatGPT account because of problematic usage but did not alert authorities. The company has apologised for not contacting the police, but said the suspect's account did not meet its threshold of a credible or imminent plan for serious physical harm to others. Other major tech companies are also facing legal challenges. Earlier this year, the father of a Florida man sued Google, saying its flagship AI product fuelled a delusional spiral that prompted his son to kill himself. Meanwhile, social media companies including Instagram-parent Meta, Snap Inc, TikTok, and Google's YouTube are facing a barrage of lawsuits from states, school districts, and individuals alleging they design their products to be addictive. In March, Meta and Google were found liable for harms caused by a 20-year old plaintiff who said they intentionally built their platforms to be addictive. The victory marked a notable shift in the legal landscape. Tech companies have long argued they are not responsible for user-generated content, but product liability cases involving design choices appear to be gaining traction. Uthmeier and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, both Republicans, have frustrated AI companies which have enjoyed significant support from US President Donald Trump. Florida has pushed back against the Trump administration's efforts to stymie AI regulation by US states, and recently proposed an "Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights" for citizens aimed at bolstering data privacy and shielding residents from negative financial impacts of data centres. Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.

Florida Sues OpenAI Over Chatbot Safety Concerns

The state became the first to sue the ChatGPT maker over claims that its technology posed a risk to children and that the company had failed to warn the public of dangers. Florida on Monday became the first state to sue OpenAI over claims that ChatGPT posed a risk to children and that the company had failed to warn the public of dangers posed by the chatbot, adding to a growing backlash against artificial intelligence. In the 83-page lawsuit, which was filed in Florida's 10th Judicial Circuit, the state said OpenAI had built "a dangerous online product where harmful information such as tips on eating disorders, self-harm and mass murder are readily available, including to young children." The company and its chief executive, Sam Altman, had engaged in negligence and violated Florida's prohibition on unfair and deceptive practices, the state added. "They have chosen profit over public safety," said Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a Republican, at a Monday news conference. He added that the company and its chief executive could be liable for up to billions of dollars in damages or penalties. The lawsuit is the latest example of intensifying scrutiny over the effects of A.I. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and other companies have faced tough questions about the negative effects of their popular chatbots, including a series of lawsuits over children who interacted with chatbots before they died by suicide. More broadly, policymakers and voters alike have grown increasingly worried about the fallout from the widespread rollout of A.I., including the potential for skyrocketing energy prices from powering the technology, as well as its potential to put swaths of the population out of work. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, proposed a sweeping bill to rein in A.I. last year. But his legislation fizzled when it failed to gain enough support with the state's House Republican leadership. Mr. Uthmeier started an investigation into OpenAI in April, citing concerns that ChatGPT had probably been "used to assist the murderer" in a deadly 2025 shooting at Florida State University. He also pointed to worries about the product's effect on children. "As big tech rolls out these technologies, they should not -- they cannot -- put our safety and security at risk," Mr. Uthmeier said in a video announcing the investigation. A spokeswoman for OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. This is a developing news story and will be updated. Check back for updates.

Sam Altman Sued by Florida AG Over Alleged Exploitation of ChatGPT Users for Profit

OpenAI's legal headaches are growing. On Monday, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, claiming that the AI giant's success and $852 billion valuation "has not been earned." "The rise of OpenAI is attributable to a web of deceit and the exploitation of users (including Floridians), leveraging their data and safety to boost OpenAI's market value at unacceptable costs," Uthemeir claims in the civil action complaint. The lawsuit has been described by the AG's office as a "first-in-the-nation state-led lawsuit" to take on OpenAI and Altman, claiming that the company knowingly put forth a dangerous and "shockingly unreliable" product with ChatGPT. The complaint accuses the company of falsely marketing ChatGPT as safe in pursuit of monetary gains, which has manifested numerous dangerous outcomes that "outweigh any benefit of using ChatGPT." "Because of Defendants' misrepresentations about ChatGPT and their careless introduction of ChatGPT to Florida and the world, mass shooters have been aided and abetted in deadly rampages, vulnerable people have been encouraged into suicide, professionals have suffered public humiliation, users have lost critical thinking skills, and minors have become addicted to a tool that feigns human compassion to collect their data with no parental oversight," the complaint says. "These harms cannot reasonably be avoided by the public, whether consumers or innocent bystanders, because Defendants take no effort to make the public aware of them." The lawsuit comes after the Office of Statewide Prosecution, also under Florida AG Uthmeier's leadership, launched a separate, ongoing criminal investigation into the alleged role ChatGPT played in a 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University that took the lives of two people. The mass shooting at FSU was far from the first time ChatGPT was accused of facilitating a violent attack. Earlier this year, mourning family members in the Tumbler Ridge district in British Columbia, Canada, sued OpenAI, alleging that the perpetrator of a mass shooting at the local high school had conversations with the company's controversially sycophantic GPT-4o model months before the attack. The shooter, who later committed what has tragically been named one of the deadliest mass shootings in Canadian history, had his account flagged for "gun violence activity and planning" by OpenAI's internal systems months before the shooting took place, but authorities were not notified. Altman has since issued an apology, admitting that the company should have alerted law enforcement. The complaint also alleges that a deliberate lack of safeguards for vulnerable users, like minors, has led to AI chatbot addictions and a consequent host of mental health problems. The chatbot, and yet again specifically its GPT-4o model, was also the subject of a wrongful death lawsuit filed last year by the parents of a teenager who allegedly committed suicide after months of back-and-forth planning conversations with ChatGPT. While ChatGPT is arguably the most well-known AI chatbot, other AI chatbot proprietors have also been implicated with similar claims. Two separate Florida families have sued Character.AI and Google's Gemini each for allegedly encouraging their sons to kill themselves. In making the case that Altman has knowingly concealed these harms to profit from the unsafe ChatGPT models, the complaint also makes references to a New Yorker investigation published in April, quoting reports of Altman's alleged penchant for lying and "sociopathic" tendencies. The Florida AG's legal challenge and request for a trial by jury comes freshly after OpenAI made it out of a lengthy legal battle with Elon Musk, one that yet again alleged deceitful practices by OpenAI. Though the jury ultimately ruled against Musk, the trial brought the AI company considerable negative press and unearthed some ugly truths regarding the former non-profit's transition to a for-profit structure, at a time when OpenAI is trying to navigate the path forward for an incredibly consequential IPO, the SEC filing for which is reportedly set to hit pretty much any time now.

Florida sues OpenAI, names Altman personally over ChatGPT safety

Florida has become the first US state to sue OpenAI, naming CEO Sam Altman personally and treating ChatGPT as a defective product under product liability law. The lawsuit cites the FSU mass shooting, children's safety failures, and deceptive trade practices, arriving weeks before OpenAI's planned IPO. Florida has sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in what appears to be the first lawsuit by a US state against the maker of ChatGPT. The civil complaint, filed Monday in state court by Attorney General James Uthmeier, accuses OpenAI of violating product liability laws, engaging in deceptive trade practices, and releasing ChatGPT while knowing it was harmful to users. The state is seeking civil penalties and a court order blocking the company from collecting data from children under 13 without parental consent. The lawsuit goes further than any previous government action against OpenAI by naming Altman personally, seeking to hold him liable for what Florida calls "reckless and willful conduct" and "utter disregard for the risk to human life." The filing arrives weeks before OpenAI is expected to file for an initial public offering, adding legal risk to what was already a complex path to the public markets. The charges Florida's complaint brings 10 counts: four for deceptive and unfair trade practices, two for negligence, two for product liability, one for fraudulent misrepresentation, and one for creating a public nuisance. The product liability framing is the most consequential. If a court treats ChatGPT as a product rather than a platform or a form of protected speech, the legal exposure for OpenAI would extend far beyond this case. "Sam Altman and ChatGPT have chosen the AI race over the safety and security of kids," Uthmeier said at a press conference. "They have chosen profit over public safety. We're not going to stand for it here in Florida." The complaint alleges that ChatGPT presents a "great danger of addiction, cognitive decline, suicide, violence, and related harms" to users, and that OpenAI's public messaging fails to adequately convey the risks of using the product. The state also claims the chatbot is particularly addictive for young users and lacks parental oversight tools. The incidents Florida cites specific incidents of real-world harm. The most prominent is the April 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University, in which a 20-year-old student killed two people and wounded six others near the Student Union building. Court documents revealed more than 270 messages between the shooter and ChatGPT, in which he allegedly discussed weapons, mass shootings, timing, campus locations, and ways to gain media attention. A separate criminal probe opened by Uthmeier's office in April over the FSU shooting is ongoing. The lawsuit also cites the deaths of two graduate students at the University of South Florida and broadly alleges that ChatGPT has "aided and abetted mass shootings and other acts of violence," resulted in "public humiliation," and contributed to the loss of critical thinking skills among users. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has denied wrongdoing in past litigation covering similar issues, maintaining that safety is a priority and that it has taken steps to improve ChatGPT's training to respond to signs of mental or emotional distress. OpenAI launched a safety fellowship in April 2026 for external researchers to work on AI safety and alignment, though the announcement came hours after a New Yorker investigation reported that the company had dissolved its superalignment and AGI-readiness teams. A growing wave of AI litigation Florida's lawsuit is the first by a state against OpenAI, but it joins a broadening pattern of government action against AI chatbot companies. Kentucky sued Character Technologies in January over allegations that its Character.AI app targeted children and led to self-harm. Utah sued Snap over claims that its AI chatbot contributes to social media addiction. Individual lawsuits against OpenAI now number in the dozens, with claims ranging from wrongful death by suicide to emotional dependency and delusional thinking. The legal theory underlying these cases echoes the trajectory of opioid litigation, in which pharmaceutical companies were held liable not for the existence of their products but for the way they marketed, distributed, and failed to warn about known risks. European regulators have pursued AI governance through legislation, but the American approach is increasingly running through the courts, with state attorneys general using product liability and consumer protection statutes to define the obligations AI companies owe to users. Timing and the IPO The lawsuit's timing creates a specific problem for OpenAI. The company is preparing to file for an initial public offering in the coming weeks, with analysts expecting a listing at a valuation of up to $1 trillion. A state lawsuit alleging product liability, naming the CEO personally, and citing mass shootings introduces material legal risk that will need to be disclosed in the S-1 filing. OpenAI has been aggressively monetising ChatGPT through advertising, subscriptions, and enterprise licensing, building the revenue trajectory needed to justify a public offering. But Florida's complaint frames that same growth as evidence of prioritising profit over safety, describing an "insatiable quest to win the AI arms race and amass large fortunes, despite knowing the danger of ChatGPT." Whether Florida's legal theories survive judicial scrutiny is an open question. Product liability law was built for physical goods, not generative AI systems whose outputs vary with every interaction. The broader AI governance debate is playing out simultaneously through legislation, litigation, and executive action, with no consensus on which framework should apply. But the political signal is clear: a Republican attorney general in one of the largest US states has decided that AI safety is an enforcement priority, and the target is the industry's most prominent company weeks before it attempts to go public.

Florida lawsuit accuses OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman of endangering children

Florida is suing OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, accusing the ChatGPT maker of developing a product that puts children at risk in the name of profit. James Uthmeier (R), the state's attorney general, announced the case at a news conference Monday. "We're going to make them pay for hurting our kids," he said. Authorities in Florida began investigating the artificial intelligence giant following a shooting on the campus of Florida State University last year. Uthmeier's office has a separate ongoing criminal investigation into the company, on allegations that its chatbot advised the suspected gunman about his choice of weapons. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the civil suit. The filing Monday adds to the legal scrutiny facing OpenAI over allegations that its chatbot has helped users harm themselves or others. Parents of people who have died by suicide have also brought complaints against the company, as have the families of victims in a mass killing in Canada. The cases will help shape what level of responsibility AI companies have for the answers their products give. Uthmeier has compared ChatGPT to a human accomplice in the Florida State case; OpenAI has countered that it only surfaced information already widely available online. "Last year's mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime," OpenAI spokesperson Kate Waters said in April when Uthmeier opened the criminal case. Florida's civil case, filed in a state court, accuses the company of violating the state's consumer protection laws. The state's 83-page complaint largely draws on news articles and other public reports. The state is seeking an order from a judge requiring more protections for children's data and stronger parental controls, as well as financial penalties for OpenAI.

Florida sues OpenAI and Sam Altman over alleged safety lapses

The lawsuit, filed in Florida state court on Monday, accuses OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, of failing to warn users that ChatGPT could be dangerous and instead marketing it as safe and reliable, including for children. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption Florida is accusing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman of putting profit over safety, in the first lawsuit brought by a state against the ChatGPT maker over the alleged shortcomings of the chatbot. The lawsuit, filed in Florida state court on Monday, claims the company and Altman failed to warn users that ChatGPT could be dangerous and instead marketed it as safe and reliable, including for children. It's the latest salvo in a growing effort across the country to hold artificial intelligence companies accountable when harms follow users' interactions with chatbots. The lawsuit accuses OpenAI of aiding and abetting mass shooters, including a shooter at Florida State University who allegedly used ChatGPT to plan his attack, encouraging vulnerable people to commit suicide, and addicting children "to a tool that feigns human compassion to collect their data with no parental oversight." "This litany of harms is driven by Defendants' insatiable quest to win the AI arms race and amass large fortunes, despite knowing the danger of ChatGPT," the complaint said. "The rise of OpenAI is attributable to a web of deceit and the exploitation of users (including Floridians), leveraging their data and safety to boost OpenAI's market value at unacceptable costs." Florida is also seeking to hold Altman personally liable. "Sam Altman and ChatGPT have chosen the AI race over the safety and security of our kids," Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said at a press conference on Monday. He added he believes that Altman and the company could be liable "for potentially up to billions of dollars" in penalties. "Losing a child is the most devastating tragedy that can happen to a family and we know that no words can come close to addressing the pain of such a loss," OpenAI spokesperson Kayla Wood said in an emailed statement to NPR. "AI is a new and powerful technology, and we believe minors need significant protection, which is why we have put in place industry leading protections and policies," the statement continued. "In particular we built safety for minors directly into our products, including a more protective experience specifically for minors, an age prediction tool, defaulting users whose age we are not confident into our more protective experience, and giving parents tools to monitor their kids' use of AI." The lawsuit alleges OpenAI's safeguards, including its parental controls, are inadequate and that the company has created "a dangerous public nuisance." The first page of the lawsuit begins with a screenshot from OpenAI's website saying ChatGPT was "built with safety in mind." The image is followed by a footnote reading: "Not so." Uthmeier's office is separately conducting a criminal investigation into OpenAI over the FSU shooter's alleged consultation of ChatGPT ahead of the April 2025 attack. More than 20 lawsuits have been filed against OpenAI over harms allegedly stemming from ChatGPT use, including by families of victims killed and injured in a mass shooting at a school in Tumbler Ridge, Canada, in February, the family of a victim killed in the FSU shooting, and the families of seven people, including one teenager, who died by suicide or suffered delusions after using the chatbot. Altman apologized to the Tumbler Ridge community in April, and OpenAI said in response to those lawsuits that it has a "zero tolerance" policy for using its tools to assist in committing violence. After Uthmeier announced his investigation into the FSU shooting, an OpenAI spokesperson said that the chatbot "provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found broadly across public sources on the internet, and it did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity." The statement continued: "We work continuously to strengthen our safeguards to detect harmful intent, limit misuse, and respond appropriately when safety risks arise." OpenAI has called the lawsuits over suicides and delusions "an incredibly heartbreaking situation" and said that it's working with mental health experts to improve how ChatGPT responds to signs of mental or emotional distress. Other AI companies are also under legal scrutiny over how their chatbots have allegedly caused harm. In response to a wrongful death lawsuit over the suicide of a Florida man who became attached to Google's Gemini chatbot, the company said: "Gemini is designed to not encourage real-world violence or suggest self-harm. Our models generally perform well in these types of challenging conversations and we devote significant resources to this, but unfortunately they're not perfect." It added that Gemini had "referred the individual to a crisis hotline many times." In January, Character.AI settled multiple lawsuits brought by families who claimed its companion chatbots contributed to suicides and mental health crises among children and teenagers. The company said it "has taken innovative and decisive steps with regard to AI safety and teens, and will continue to champion these efforts and push others across the industry to adopt similar safety standards." That includes barring users under 18 from interacting with or creating chatbots. Last month, the state of Pennsylvania sued Character.AI, alleging its chatbots posed as doctors and offered medical advice, in violation of state medical licensing rules. A Character.AI spokesperson told NPR at the time the company doesn't comment on pending litigation, but that its "highest priority is the safety and well-being of our users."

Florida sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman over ChatGPT

Driving the news: The complaint argues that OpenAI ignored warnings from experts about ChatGPT, which the state says has "aided and abetted" mass shooters and encouraged vulnerable individuals toward suicide. * In doing so, the state alleges, the company acted negligently and violated Florida's prohibition on unfair and deceptive trade practices. * Among the examples of ChatGPT's harms cited in the complaint is the murder of two University of South Florida graduate students, in which authorities say the suspect sought the tool's advice on disposing of bodies. Between the lines: Gov. Ron DeSantis, who appointed Uthmeier (his former chief of staff), sought twice this year to rein in AI. Each attempt failed in the state House, after pushback from President Trump and Big Tech. * In April, Uthmeier opened a criminal investigation into OpenAI after it was revealed that the gunman who opened fire at Florida State University had consulted ChatGPT before the shooting. * Uthmeier said Monday that the investigation remains ongoing. What they're saying: "OpenAI and Altman ignored internal and external safety warnings, put children at great risk, and allowed a dangerous product to reach millions of Floridians," Uthmeier said in a statement.

Florida Sues OpenAI, Sam Altman Over ChatGPT Safety Claims

Florida is seeking damages, court-ordered changes to the platform, and personal liability against Altman. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Monday filed what the state describes as "the first-in-the-nation state-led lawsuit" against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, accusing the company of misleading consumers about ChatGPT's safety while exposing children to harm. The lawsuit marks one of the most aggressive actions against a major AI company, and comes after Florida's attorney general's office opened an investigation into the ChatGPT developer in April. "We recently filed a monumental civil lawsuit against Sam Altman and ChatGPT for endangering our kids and deceiving parents into believing that this application is safe for use," Uthmeier said during a press conference on Monday. "It's clearly not." Filed in the Florida state court on Monday, the lawsuit alleges OpenAI misrepresented ChatGPT as safe while exposing users to risks including self-harm, violence, addiction, cognitive decline, and misinformation. Florida is seeking damages, injunctive relief, and personal liability against Altman. "Sam Altman and ChatGPT have chosen the AI race over the safety and security of our kids," Uthmeier said. "They have chosen profit over public safety, and we're not going to stand for it here in Florida." The lawsuit comes amid ongoing investigations and lawsuits related to ChatGPT. Last month, OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman were sued in California state court by the family of a 19-year-old student who died from an accidental overdose, with the lawsuit alleging ChatGPT encouraged dangerous drug use and advised on mixing substances. Uthmeier said investigators found that the Florida State University shooter consulted the chatbot about firearms, ammunition, timing, and locations on campus before the attack. He also pointed to a separate USF kidnapping and murder case in which a suspect allegedly asked ChatGPT how to dispose of bodies, along with other incidents involving self-harm, suicide attempts, child pornography, and other crimes. In May, OpenAI said it updated ChatGPT to better detect signs of suicide, self-harm, and potential violence by analyzing conversations over time rather than individual messages. The update follows a lawsuit against OpenAI related to a February mass shooting in British Columbia. The Florida AG's complaint also points to OpenAI's growth from a nonprofit founded in 2015 to a company valued at more than $850 billion. OpenAI recently announced an $852 billion valuation after raising $122 billion, citing growing demand for ChatGPT and AI services, with plans to go public later this year. "This success has not been earned; the rise of OpenAI is attributable to a web of deceit and the exploitation of users (including Floridians), leveraging their data and safety to boost OpenAI's market value at unacceptable costs," the lawsuit said.

Florida sues OpenAI, alleging company could have minimized harms caused by ChatGPT

On its parental resource page, OpenAI says ChatGPT is built with safety in mind. "Not so," according to a lawsuit filed by Florida State Attorney General James Uthmeier on Monday. The phrase was accompanied by a screenshot of an OpenAI post about safety and transparency at the start of the complaint. Florida is the first state to sue OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging the company prioritized profit and speed over user safety and that the harms caused by ChatGPT "are substantial and outweigh any benefits of ChatGPT use." "People are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived, and they need to pay for it," Uthmeier said in a press conference Monday morning. In an 83-page suit, Uthmeier says that OpenAI failed to provide warnings about the risks of ChatGPT, which the suit claims can cause addiction and behavioral harm, and said the company could have used alternative designs to minimize harms by the chatbot. The suit says the company either knew or should have known that its design encourages self-harm and violence, among other things harmful to Floridians -- particularly children and teens. It alleges Altman knew the dangers of ChatGPT, but ignored them. "The threat of ChatGPT to Floridians (and humanity) is not lost on either OpenAI or Altman," the suit reads. The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI is driven by an "insatiable quest to win the AI arms race and amass large fortunes, despite knowing the danger of ChatGPT." It claims the company leverages user data to boost its market value "at unacceptable costs" and that the rise of the company is "attributable to a web of deceit and the exploitation of users." The suit lays out several cases where ChatGPT was linked to incidents with devastating consequences, such as in the death of Adam Raine, a 16-year-old who died by suicide after extensive conversations with ChatGPT where he expressed suicidal thoughts. The chatbot wrote his suicide note for him, according to the suit. "ChatGPT did not simply respond to Adam. It promoted and aided his suicide, volunteering information that would assist in his death," the suit reads. The lawsuit also pointed to the shooting last April at Florida State University, where two people were killed and several others wounded after an FSU student opened fire on campus. The suspect had asked ChatGPT how many shooting victims it would take to garner media attention and the busiest time at the FSU student union, where the shooting took place, according to chat logs shared by the Florida State Attorney's Office with CBS News in April. In April, Florida opened up a criminal investigation into OpenAI after determining the suspect was offered "significant advice" by ChatGPT before the shooting. That same month, a man accused of killing two University of South Florida graduate students was linked to ChatGPT after asking what would happen if someone was "put in a black garbage bag and thrown in a dumpster." In his press briefing, Uthmeier also referenced a mass shooting in Canada earlier this year. The shooter had long conversations with ChatGPT about scenarios involving gun violence before carrying out the attack, according to a lawsuit filed in April by the families of the victims. "Today we're going to send a message to Open AI," Uthmeier said in his Monday morning press briefing. "Get ready for a fight, and there's not one more important than this right now." In a statement to CBS News, OpenAI said it has built safety for minors into its products, like age protection tools, a more protective experience specifically for minors and parental tools to monitor their child's use of AI. "Losing a child is the most devastating tragedy that can happen to a family and we know that no words can come close to addressing the pain of such a loss," the company said. It also said AI is a "new and powerful technology" and that minors need "significant protection." "We know pointing to this work will not bring a child back, but we're committed to getting this right," the statement said.

Florida sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, accusing them of putting profit over safety

Florida's Attorney General James Uthmeier sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman on Monday, accusing the company of putting profit over safety, fueling violence and pushing a product it knew could harm users. "The rise of OpenAI is attributable to a web of deceit and the exploitation of users (including Floridians), leveraging their data and safety to boost OpenAI's market value at unacceptable costs," said the complaint reviewed by NBC News and filed Monday. The civil action, seeking penalties and a court order rather than criminal charges, said Uthmeier "seeks to hold Altman personally liable for the harm he has caused Floridians through his reckless and willful conduct as founder and CEO of OpenAI, including his utter disregard for the risk to human life caused by his firms' conduct." The action is separate from a criminal investigation into OpenAI that Uthmeier opened in late April, which remains ongoing. The wide-ranging lawsuit accuses OpenAI of four counts of deceptive and unfair trade practices, two counts of negligence, two counts of violating product liability laws, and one count each of fraudulent misrepresentation and causing a public nuisance. The suit claims that OpenAI's systems present a "great danger of addiction, cognitive decline, suicide, violence, and related harms" to users. OpenAI did not immediately reply to a request for comment about Monday's lawsuit. OpenAI has maintained that it designs its systems with "safety at every step" and says that it has "safeguards in place to help people, especially teens, when conversations turn sensitive." "We continue improving ChatGPT's training to recognize and respond to signs of mental or emotional distress, de-escalate conversations, and guide people toward real-world support," the company says. The complaint also points to the alleged use of ChatGPT in the planning of a mass shooting at Florida State University and the killing of two graduate students at the University of South Florida. "Last year's mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime," said OpenAI spokesman Drew Pusateri in a statement to NBC News after the company was sued by the family of a victim of the shooting. "In this case, ChatGPT provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found broadly across public sources on the internet, and it did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity," he said. The lawsuit adds to a growing list of legal efforts brought by governments as well as private citizens against OpenAI, many of which contain similar allegations that the company's core offerings can have serious adverse effects on users. OpenAI has been sued by the representatives of at least seven individuals who allege the company's products caused users to commit suicide or develop harmful delusions. OpenAI has also been sued by the families of several victims of February's mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. The victims' families argue that OpenAI should have reported the gunman's worrying ChatGPT usage months earlier to law enforcement after the suspect's gun-related interactions with ChatGPT raised alarms within OpenAI's safety teams. Altman apologized to the Tumbler Ridge community in late April, vowing to continue "working with all levels of government to help ensure something like this never happens again." Monday's suit represents the latest salvo in Florida's fight against AI companies, as Uthmeier and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have emerged as leading critics of America's largest AI companies. In December, DeSantis released a proposal to create an AI Bill of Rights for Florida residents, highlighting individuals' right to privacy while also critiquing the construction of data centers that power AI systems. DeSantis has also clashed with the White House to assert states' ability to regulate AI companies, The complaint on Monday covers a wide array of commonly cited risks from AI, ranging from threats to teens' mental health, sycophancy, illicit provision of medical and legal advice and even existential risk to human survival. Referencing several advertisements about ChatGPT's ability to help farmers and other small businesses, the suit argues: "these advertisements do not disclose that ChatGPT can be wrong, can make mistakes, or that it can provide false, nonsensical, or hallucinated information." "ChatGPT's unreliability is dangerous," the suit continues, later noting that "its use can lead to self-harm, cognitive decline, and behavioral addiction." The suit also criticizes ChatGPT's propensity to agree with users, arguing that the service's sycophancy can lead users to develop dangerous psychological attachment to the platform and cause users to pay money to unlock more generous usage quotas. This "leads to more use of the chatbot, more training data for its improvement, and more market value for OpenAI," the complaint says. The complaint notes incidents in which ChatGPT allegedly provided dangerous medical advice to users -- for example, telling teenager Sam Nelson how to mix kratom and Xanax. Nelson's mother alleges OpenAI and ChatGPT are responsible for his wrongful death in May 2025. In a statement provided to The New York Times in response to an article about Nelson, OpenAI spokesman Drew Pusateri said: "These interactions took place on an earlier version of ChatGPT that is no longer available. ChatGPT is not a substitute for medical or mental health care, and we have continued to strengthen how it responds in sensitive and acute situations with input from mental health experts." Altman and his co-founders, including Elon Musk, launched OpenAI as a nonprofit AI research lab in 2015. It has since created a for-profit corporation that is reportedly preparing to file for an IPO, though the for-profit entity remains legally nested under the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation. OpenAI was recently valued at $852 billion after raising $122 billion in its latest funding round in March. Monday's suit is not the first time Altman and OpenAI have faced claims of recklessly prioritizing profit. In a lawsuit filed in 2024, Elon Musk accused the company of abandoning its non-profit status by valuing commercial success over the public good. Musk left OpenAI in 2018 after an acrimonious power struggle with Altman and other OpenAI leaders. In May, a jury unanimously found that Musk had waited too long to sue, though Musk said he will appeal the verdict.

Florida AG files first-of-its-kind state lawsuit against OpenAI, Altman

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) has filed suit against OpenAI, alleging the artificial intelligence firm and its CEO, Sam Altman, promoted a product they knew could harm users. The complaint, filed Monday, makes Florida the first state to sue OpenAI and Altman over the design of its products, including its landmark ChatGPT model. Uthmeier argues OpenAI has prioritized its profits, and asks the court to lessen and eliminate "what has become a dangerous public nuisance," the complaint states. He further alleges Altman is personally liable for harm to Florida residents by engaging in "reckless and willful conduct," including "his utter disregard for the risk to human life caused by his firms' conduct." The 83-page complaint begins with a screenshot of OpenAI's parental controls page, which states ChatGPT was "built with safety in mind," followed by the complaint stating, "Not so." "People are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived and they need to pay for it," Uthmeier told reporters at a press conference Monday morning. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The filing comes weeks after Uthmeier announced a separate criminal investigation into OpenAI after the state learned the individual accused of fatally shooting two people at Florida State University communicated with ChatGPT before the incident. This investigation will continue as the civil lawsuit plays out, Uthmeier said Monday. After reviewing the conversations between the suspected FSU shooter and ChatGPT, Uthmeier suggested that the chatbot would be charged with conspiracy to commit murder and would be arrested if it were human. The Florida prosecutor read multiple examples of ChatGPT's conversations with young users who died by drug overdoses or suicide after consulting with the chatbot. He acknowledged AI can be a helpful tool in cases such as tracking down child predators, but takes issue with products designed to be "addictive" and "encourage" kids to engage in dangerous behavior. The civil suit specially aims at the design of these platforms, an emerging approach that has proved successful in similar litigation. Earlier this year, a California jury found Meta and Google -- the parent company of YouTube -- were liable for a woman's depression as a result of their platforms' design. The companies were ordered to pay a combined $6 million as part of the verdict. The verdict came a day after a New Mexico jury found Meta liable in a separate case, determining the company compromised children's safety. The back-to-back verdicts sent a warning shot to Big Tech, as it was the first time juries found the social media platforms liable for their impact on kids and teens. Legal experts told The Hill the successful verdicts could pave the way for similar outcomes in other trials.

Florida Becomes First State to Sue OpenAI Over Child Safety Risks

June 1 (Reuters) - Florida sued OpenAI and ⁠its ⁠CEO Sam Altman on Monday, ⁠accusing the company of misrepresenting the safety of its ChatGPT platform, which the lawsuit said has harmed children by providing information to school shooters, offering guidance on self-harm and addicting young users. Marking the first state to take legal action against the company, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a Republican, filed ⁠the lawsuit ⁠in Florida state court. It cited a shooting at a Tallahassee university last year and a number of events in other states where ChatGPT allegedly provided information to people who went on to commit violence. At a press conference, Uthmeier said the state named Altman personally because he had been "very central" to pushing some of the features on ChatGPT that Uthmeier said had ⁠been the ⁠most harmful. "People are getting ⁠hurt, parents are getting deceived, and they need to pay for it," Uthmeier told reporters. The lawsuit seeks damages up to billions of dollars, ⁠Uthmeier said, plus a court order directing the company to change how it interacts with young users. A spokesperson for OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. OpenAI has said it trains its models to refuse requests that could "meaningfully enable violence," and notifies law enforcement when conversations suggest "an ⁠imminent and credible risk of harm to others," with mental health experts helping assess ⁠borderline cases. Uthmeier announced in April that he was launching a criminal investigation into ChatGPT's role in a 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University after prosecutors reviewed the chat logs between the alleged shooter and the program. AI companies are facing a growing wave of lawsuits accusing them of failing to prevent chatbot interactions that plaintiffs say contribute to self-harm, mental illness and violence. OpenAI is also facing a lawsuit filed by the family of a man killed in the shooting at Florida State University, claiming the ⁠shooter was aided by ChatGPT in planning the attack. In April, family members of victims of one of Canada's deadliest mass shootings filed a group of lawsuits against OpenAI and Altman, alleging the company knew eight months before the attack that the shooter was planning it on ChatGPT but did not warn police. (Reporting by Diana Novak Jones, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Nia Williams)

Florida Takes OpenAI To Court, Claims ChatGPT Endangers Users

Uthmeier's office brought a wide set of claims, including allegations of deceptive and unfair trade practices, negligence, product liability violations, and fraudulent misrepresentation, along with a public nuisance count. "Losing a child is the most devastating tragedy that can happen to a family and we know that no words can come close to addressing the pain of such a loss. AI is a new and powerful technology, and we believe minors need significant protection, which is why we have put in place industry leading protections and policies," a spokesperson for OpenAI told Benzinga in an emailed statement. "In particular we built safety for minors directly into our products, including a more protective experience specifically for minors, an age prediction tool, defaulting users whose age we are not confident into our more protective experience, and giving parents tools to monitor their kids' use of AI. We know pointing to this work will not bring a child back, but we're committed to getting this right." Benzinga reached out to the Attorney General's office for comment, but did not hear back at the time of publication. The lawsuit is separate from a criminal probe Uthmeier opened in early April that remains underway. The lawsuit cites alleged links between ChatGPT use and violent crimes, including a shooting at Florida State University and the deaths of two graduate students at the University of South Florida, NBC News detailed. Florida's filing also criticizes what it describes as ChatGPT's tendency to affirm users, arguing that behavior can deepen emotional dependence and encourage paid usage. The complaint claims that dynamic benefits OpenAI by increasing engagement, generating more training material, and boosting the company's valuation. The suit lands as Florida leaders step up scrutiny of major AI developers, including a December proposal from Gov. Ron DeSantis tied to an AI bill of rights and privacy protections. OpenAI has faced multiple lawsuits from families and representatives alleging severe mental health outcomes, including suicides and delusions. Another case cited in the report involves a teen, Sam Nelson, whose mother alleges ChatGPT contributed to his death in May 2025 after the chatbot allegedly provided dangerous guidance involving kratom and Xanax. OpenAI's corporate structure and valuation have also drawn attention as the company has shifted from its origins as a nonprofit lab founded in 2015 toward a for-profit entity that remains under the nonprofit umbrella. OpenAI is valued at $852 billion following a $122 billion funding round in March and is reportedly preparing for an IPO. Elon Musk, an OpenAI co-founder who left in 2018, sued the company in 2024 over claims it veered from its original mission. In May, a jury found Musk waited too long to bring the case, though he said he plans to appeal. Recently, lawsuits have been brought against other artificial intelligence companies for similar misconduct. Three Tennessee teenagers filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Musk's xAI, claiming its AI chatbot Grok created and spread sexualized images of them without consent. This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

Florida Sues OpenAI and Sam Altman as Criminal Probe Continues | PYMNTS.com

"It's clearly not," Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a video shared in a Monday post on social platform X. "People are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived, and [OpenAI and Altman] need to pay for it. They need to pay for it by opening up their checkbook and changing the program to ensure that there are parental controls and that we are not endangering our kids." Uthmeier said ChatGPT can be addictive, mimics human characteristics to trick users into giving it more information, and works quickly to help users carry out any task, even if the task involves criminal conduct. "Sam Altman and ChatGPT have chosen the AI race over the safety and security of our kids," Uthmeier said. "They have chosen profit over public safety. And we're not going to stand for it here in Florida. So, we will hold them accountable." OpenAI did not immediately reply to PYMNTS' request for comment. Florida is also continuing a criminal investigation of OpenAI that Uthmeier announced in April, he said in Monday's video. Uthmeier said in April that his office opened the investigation to examine whether the company's products may have contributed to harm, including risks to minors and broader public safety concerns. It was reported that the investigation is focusing on whether AI tools have been misused or inadequately safeguarded, particularly in ways that could expose vulnerable populations to harm. Uthmeier referenced a mass shooting that heightened the urgency surrounding the inquiry. Uthmeier said in an April 21 press release that the decision to launch the investigation came after an initial review by prosecutors of chat logs between ChatGPT and the gunman who opened fire at Florida State University last year. "Florida is leading the way in cracking down on AI's use in criminal behavior, and if ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder," Uthmeier said in the release. "This criminal investigation will determine whether OpenAI bears criminal responsibility for ChatGPT's actions in the shooting at Florida State University last year." For all PYMNTS AI coverage, subscribe to the daily AI Newsletter.

Florida sues OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman alleging ChatGPT causes 'great danger'

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging the AI giant's tools stoke violence and self-harm by putting profit over safety. The civil suit filed Monday claims OpenAI's tools, which include the hit ChatGPT chatbot, cause "great danger of addiction, cognitive decline, suicide, violence, and related harms" to users. The lawsuit states OpenAI pushed out a product it knew could harm users, citing the alleged use of ChatGPT in the planning of a mass shooting at Florida State University last year and the killing of two graduate students at the University of South Florida in April. "The rise of OpenAI is attributable to a web of deceit and the exploitation of users (including Floridians), leveraging their data and safety to boost OpenAI's market value at unacceptable costs," the suit argues. The case comes after Uthmeier opened a criminal investigation into OpenAI in late April. That remains ongoing. The Florida suit is the latest in a tide of legal complaints against the San Francisco startup. Both authorities and private citizens have sought to sound the alarm on what they describe as harmful effects of OpenAI's products. The new suit "seeks to hold Altman personally liable for the harm he has caused Floridians through his reckless and willful conduct as founder and CEO of OpenAI, including his utter disregard for the risk to human life caused by his firms' conduct," Uthmeier said. Asked for comment on the suit, an OpenAI spokesperson told The Post: "Losing a child is the most devastating tragedy that can happen to a family and we know that no words can come close to addressing the pain of such a loss." The spokesperson went on to note OpenAI's "industry-leading protections and policies" like "an age prediction tool" and "giving parents tools to monitor their kids' use of AI." "We know pointing to this work will not bring a child back, but we're committed to getting this right," the OpenAI rep concluded. Along with violent crimes, the Florida complaint highlights instances in which ChatGPT allegedly gave users dangerous medical advice -- such as when it allegedly told California teenager Sam Nelson how to mix kratom with Xanax. Nelson's family filed a wrongful death suit in May after the youth died last year. The suit also slams what it describes as ChatGPT's tendency to agree with users and urge on delusional thoughts, saying users can develop dangerous psychological attachment to the tech. The company was also sued by the family of a victim of last year's FSU shooting, in which two people were killed and seven others wounded. "Last year's mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime," an OpenAI spokesman previously told media outlets. Uthmeier's suit accuses OpenAI of two counts of negligence, two counts of violating product liability laws, four counts of deceptive and unfair trade practices and one count each of fraudulent misrepresentation and causing a public nuisance. Florida is the first state to sue OpenAI and Altman over design and safety. Families of victims of a mass shooting in British Columbia, Canada, previously sued the company, too. The plaintiffs accused OpenAI of not reporting the suspect's concerning gun talk with ChatGPT to law enforcement - even after alarms were reportedly raised within the company. OpenAI raised a massive $122 billion funding round in March which valued the company at $852 billion. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has positioned himself as a staunch AI critic. In December, he released a proposal for an AI Bill of Rights for Florida residents, and he has sparred with the White House over states' ability to regulate AI.