Florida files lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging safety risks

State says ChatGPT has been used to plan mass shootings and for self-harm information.

- By QUEENIE WONG

Florida has sued OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, alleging that the San Francisco tech company failed to inform people about the dangers posed by its popular artificial intelligence chatbot.

OpenAI developed ChatGPT, a chatbot used by more than 900 million people weekly to answer questions, generate text and complete other tasks. But people have also used ChatGPT to plan mass shootings, obtain self-harm information and engage in other harmful acts, according to the 83-page lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in Florida’s 10th Judicial Circuit, comes as OpenAI faces mounting concerns that AI is harming people, including children and teens, and there aren’t enough safeguards in place. Florida is the first state to sue OpenAI over safety risks.

“People are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived and they need to pay for it,” Florida Atty. Gen. James Uthmeier said in a news conference Monday. “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.”