Florida’s attorney general has sued OpenAI and chief executive Sam Altman, in a civil action alleging unfair and deceptive trade practices, negligence, violating product liability laws, fraudulent misrepresentation and causing a public nuisance, in the latest of multiple similar actions targeting prominent AI companies.
The lawsuit claims OpenAI’s systems cause a danger of “addiction, cognitive decline, suicide, violence, and related harms” to users.
The charges are separate from a criminal investigation that the state’s attorney general James Uthmeier opened in late April, which remains ongoing, and is looking into possible liability over the use of OpenAI’s ChatGPT to plan a mass shooting at Florida State University.
‘Health and safety’ risk
The state alleged that the harms were driven by OpenAI and Altman’s “quest to win the AI arms race and amass large fortunes, despite knowing the danger of ChatGPT”.
