Weeks after Florida officials accused ChatGPT of playing a role in a mass shooting at a state university, Florida’s attorney general is suing OpenAI and looking to hold its chief executive, Sam Altman, personally liable for alleged violence and harm his company had on Floridians.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office filed a lawsuit against Altman, accusing him of seeking profits over safety in his product, along with knowing and ignoring its dangers.
One example is a mass shooter who used ChatGPT to help plan his killings at Florida State University last April, and Uthmeier likened the artificial intelligence platform to an actual murderer.
“People like Sam Altman should not be designing these products to be addictive, to go after kids and to encourage them to do dangerous things,” Uthmeier said in a West Palm Beach press conference June 1.
Uthmeier’s allegations against the booming AI company come at a time of growing nationwide concern about AI’s danger to children.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sought to weigh in by encouraging lawmakers to pass a bill preventing minors from holding AI chatbot accounts without parental permission, but the state House didn’t consider it during a special session called by the governor.
Uthmeier’s 83-page lawsuit, filed in Highlands County circuit court, also described dangerous incidents he said involved ChatGPT outside Florida, including the death of 16-year-old Adam Raine in California. The teen died by suicide after conversing extensively with ChatGPT.
Uthmeier seeks up to $10,000 in civil penalties per violation under Florida law and for a judge to mandate OpenAI to adopt child safety measures, including policies to describe what information is collected from children and how this information is used.
Moreover, the family of one of two victims killed in FSU’s mass shooting already announced its own federal lawsuit against OpenAI for allegedly giving tactical advice to the shooter.
Regarding that case, OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said in a statement, “Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime … ChatGPT provided factual responses to questions with information that could be found broadly across public sources on the internet, and it did not encourage or promote illegal or harmful activity.”
Uthmeier also is investigating ChatGPT in another murder case after two University of South Florida students went missing. Prosecutors allege a suspect asked the AI chatbot about disposing of a body and remains of one student were found on a Tampa bridge.
Uthmeier says he’s on board with age verification
One primary concern with age verification methods is data privacy risks, but Uthmeier defended it, explaining there are new technologies that can check whether accounts are held by minors based on activity and posts.
Currently, Florida law doesn’t allow minors under 14 to access social media. A challenge to this provision is still playing out in federal court. Trade associations representing social media platforms like YouTube or Meta say this law violates the First Amendment rights of minors by restricting their ability to view lawful content.
“We’re going after big corporations that are careless with sensitive data, especially as it pertains to kids,” Uthmeier said when asked about safeguards for data used in age verification. “That will be a theme of our office for the foreseeable future.”
The increased strife over AI has sparked legislation around the country to require age verification, but a Florida Department of Law Enforcement special agent also at Uthmeier’s announcement raised a red flag.
“Age verification is very flawed,” said Mike Duffey, an FDLE special agent in charge. “As in every environment, the children, the bad actors, they all find ways around these guardrails.”
This is a developing news story. Check back later for more.
This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Stephany Matat is based in Tallahassee, Fla. She can be reached at SMatat@usatodayco.com. On X: @stephanymatat.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida sues OpenAI, says CEO puts ChatGPT profits over safety
Reporting by Stephany Matat, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
