The US state of Florida is suing ChatGPT maker OpenAI for collecting data from children under the age of 13. “Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO) and ChatGPT have chosen the AI race over the safety of children,” said James Uthmeier, Florida Attorney General.
“They have chosen profit over public safety. We will not accept that here in Florida,” he continued at a press conference.
Florida is also suing Altman himself. The state wants OpenAI to stop collecting certain data from children under 13 without their parents’ consent and is also demanding fines.
University shooting
According to the Bloomberg news agency, it is the first time that OpenAI has been sued by a state for this reason. Several individuals have already filed a lawsuit because of the damage ChatGPT allegedly causes. For example, there are complaints about delusions during long-term use and use is said to have contributed to suicide.
The announced lawsuit is separate from the criminal investigation that the state of Florida launched in April into the company’s possible liability in the shooting at Florida State University. A man who shot two people at a university took advice from the chatbot, Uthmeier said at the time.
“The chatbot advised the shooter on what type of weapon to use, which ammunition belonged to which weapon and whether a weapon would be useful at close range.”
Addictive
OpenAI said in a statement to the AFP news agency that it was not responsible for the shooting. The chatbot provided ‘factual answers’ and would not have encouraged illegal behavior.
Other chatbots have also been the subject of lawsuits by states. In January, Kentucky sued Character Technologies Inc., the maker of the customizable chatbot app Character.AI, alleging the chatbot allegedly targeted children and led to self-harm. Snap was sued in the state of Utah because its AI chatbot allegedly contributed to social media addictions.
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