Florida's suit for chat robot security. OpenAI

On Monday, Florida became the first state to sue OpenAI over claims that ChatGPT poses a risk to children and that the company has failed to warn the public of the risks posed by chatbots, adding to the growing backlash against artificial intelligence.

In the 83-page lawsuit filed in Florida's 10th District Court, the state said OpenAI built "a dangerous online product that makes harmful information, such as information about eating disorders, self-harm, and mass murder, easily available to young children."

The company and its CEO, Sam Altman, engaged in negligence and violated Florida's prohibition against unfair and deceptive practices, the state added.

“They chose profit over public safety,” Florida Attorney General James Usmeyer, a Republican, said at a news conference Monday. He added that the company and its CEO could have to pay up to billions of dollars in damages or fines.

This lawsuit is the latest example of increased scrutiny of the impact of AI. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and others are facing difficult questions about the negative impacts of popular chatbots, including a series of lawsuits against children who interacted with chatbots before committing suicide.