Florida AG sues OpenAI, seeks to hold Altman liable for alleged harms

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman on Monday, alleging that the artificial intelligence company knowingly released an unsafe product that could harm users.

The 83-page complaint alleges that OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot aided and abetted mass shooters in “deadly attacks,” drove vulnerable people to suicide, harmed users’ critical thinking skills, and caused minors to become addicted to the tool that “mimicks human compassion.”

“This cascade of damages results from Defendants’ insatiable quest to win the AI ​​arms race and amass vast fortunes despite knowing the danger of ChatGPT,” the filing said.

With the lawsuit, Uthmeier’s office seeks to hold Altman personally liable for the harm he allegedly caused to Florida residents through his conduct as CEO, including his “complete disregard for the risk to human life,” according to the complaint. It is also seeking to force OpenAI to comply with obligations under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Florida became the first state in the US to file a lawsuit against OpenAI, and Uthmeier said at a press conference on Monday that he expected others to follow.

He said the civil lawsuit was filed because OpenAI and Altman “endangered our children and deceived parents into believing this app was safe to use.”

“People are getting hurt, parents are being deceived, and they have to pay for it,” Uthmeier said.

Uthmeier previously launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI in April to determine whether the company claimed responsibility for the 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University in which two people were killed.

The investigation that followed from prosecutors I reviewed the chat logs Uthmeier said Monday that the conflict between the gunman and ChatGPT will continue.

Uthmeier’s case is the latest example of OpenAI’s mounting legal troubles.

The company is being sued by seven families of victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting in Canada in February. The families claim that the attacker used OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot to plan the attack and that the company did nothing to stop it.

Altman apologizes to Tumbler Ridge community April letter“No one should have to endure such a tragedy,” he writes.

OpenAI also faces a number of wrongful death lawsuits alleging that ChatGPT drives users to experience harmful delusions and, in some cases, suicide. company said in august It said it “continues to improve how our models recognize and respond to signs of mental and emotional distress” and has launched many new safety features, including: parental controls.

Last month, OpenAI was embroiled in another high-profile lawsuit with Elon Musk; Elon Musk had filed a lawsuit against the company, Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, claiming that they had reneged on their purported commitment to maintain its non-profit structure and pursue its philanthropic mission.

After a three-week trial that featured compelling testimony from Musk, Altman, and Brockman, an advisory jury deliberated and determined that Musk had waited too long to sue. The decision was immediately accepted by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in federal court in Oakland, California.

Musk decision “calendar technicality“X in a post on his social network.

If you have suicidal thoughts or are in distress, Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Call 988 for support and assistance from a trained counselor.

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