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 Ope...