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."

"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."