Eight US States Sue OpenAI, Alleging ChatGPT Is Unsafe for Children

Eight US states have filed a new wave of lawsuits against OpenAI, accusing the company of harming children and misleading consumers about the safety of ChatGPT. The complaints, reported by The Verge and earlier by Reuters, were filed separately by Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana.

The plaintiffs claim that OpenAI unlawfully put profits over safety while developing its chatbot, violating local consumer protection laws by failing to warn users about its dangers. The suits cite several cases brought by family members of teenagers and adults who allege that the AI chatbot played a role in their loved ones' deaths.

According to the states, OpenAI misleadingly presented ChatGPT as a "safe, youth-appropriate tool that puts safety first," when in reality it was "dangerous to vulnerable users." The alleged harms include "degrading critical thinking skills, encouraging paranoias and delusions, offering dangerous medical advice, and promoting unhealthy behaviors and relationships."

The states further accuse OpenAI of collecting data from minors and doing too little to keep underage users away from the chatbot. As evidence of the company's alleged "recklessness," the complaints also point to recent incidents involving AI used in hacking.

"OpenAI has devolved from its original mission as a public-first nonprofit that prioritized safety into a cautionary tale about what can happen when the development of a tool as powerful as AI is driven not by safety, but by a profit-at-all-costs mindset that sidelines essential safeguards," Arizona's lawsuit claims.

OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri told The Verge that the company has "built industry-leading age-specific protections" into ChatGPT. While no system can be perfect, he said, OpenAI will keep working with experts and adding safeguards such as parental controls, break reminders and age-appropriate model protections. The company also said it is committed to working with states on pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire industry rather than a single company.

The states are asking the courts to force OpenAI to pay a series of civil penalties and to stop misleading the public about the safety of ChatGPT. Some states are also seeking the deletion of unlawfully collected personal data.

Source: The Verge