Florida has become the first US state to file a lawsuit against OpenAI over the design and safety of its ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot.
The lawsuit, brought by Attorney General James Uthmeier, alleges OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman are endangering and addicting children, aiding and abetting mass shooters, and coaxing users into suicide as the company pursues profit.
The legal action follows 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 also seeks 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.”
The complaint makes multiple allegations including deceptive and unfair trade practices, negligence, violating product liability laws, fraudulent misrepresentation, and causing a public nuisance.
It also cites 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 responded by saying it has “put in place industry leading protections and policies”, adding that it builds safety for minors directly into its products, including an age detection tool and parental monitoring features.
“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 Florida lawsuit is one of several targeting OpenAI over its safety practices, with other cases claiming ChatGPT has acted as a suicide coach and spurred harmful delusions in users.
Families of victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting in Canada have also sued OpenAI, after the company banned the suspect’s ChatGPT account due to problematic usage but did not alert authorities.
OpenAI apologised for not contacting police but said the account did not meet its threshold of a credible or imminent plan for serious physical harm to others.
Other technology companies are facing similar legal pressure, with the father of a Florida man suing Google this year, alleging its flagship AI product fuelled a delusional spiral that led his son to take his own life.
Meta, Snap Inc, TikTok, and Google’s YouTube are also facing lawsuits from states, school districts, and individuals alleging their platforms are deliberately designed to be addictive.
In March, Meta and Google were found liable for harms caused by a 20-year-old plaintiff who claimed the companies intentionally built their platforms to be addictive, marking a notable shift in the legal landscape.
Uthmeier and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have both frustrated AI companies, and Florida has pushed back against the Trump administration’s efforts to limit AI regulation by US states, recently proposing an “Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights” aimed at bolstering data privacy and shielding residents from negative financial impacts of data centres.