Florida sues OpenAI: 'ChatGPT is harmful to users'

The US state of Florida has sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman. According to the state, ChatGPT is harmful to users and specifically children, while unauthorized data is collected from children. The state wants OpenAI to comply with the law.

In the complaint, the state alleges that OpenAI and Altman "prioritized rapid market entry and commercial profits over user security." The company is said to have ignored 'repeated' internal and external warnings. ChatGPT is therefore 'a product that facilitates and encourages suffering – including self-harm and violence – while the company falsely assured users that the chatbot is safe'.

In addition, the state states that ChatGPT collects data from children without significant parental supervision. The chatbot is also said to be addictive and cause cognitive damage, "and is susceptible to dangerous errors that the company actively downplays."

OpenAI's "misleading claims" and their careless introduction of ChatGPT in Florida and around the world have aided and abetted mass murderers in their deadly killing sprees, driven vulnerable people to suicide, caused professionals to suffer public humiliation, users lost their critical thinking skills, and minors became addicted to a tool that feigns human compassion to collect their data without parental supervision, the state wrote in the complaint.

The state of Florida wants OpenAI to comply with Florida law and also holds Altman personally responsible. OpenAI told the BBC, among others, that it uses 'leading protections and policies' and is 'committed' 'to doing this well'.

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