GoKawiilCEO of OpenAI Sam Altman arrives at the courthouse on the day of the trial in Elon Musk's lawsuit over OpenAI for-profit conversion at a federal courthouse in Oakland, California, U.S., May 12, 2026.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Monday filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging that the artificial intelligence company knowingly released an unsafe product that could harm users.
The 83-page complaint claims that OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot has aided and abetted mass shooters in "deadly rampages," driven vulnerable people to suicide, harmed users' critical thinking skills and caused minors to become addicted to the tool, which "feigns human compassion."
"This litany of harms is driven by Defendants' insatiable quest to win the AI arms race and amass large fortunes, despite knowing the danger of ChatGPT," the filing said.
With the lawsuit, Uthmeier's office is seeking to hold Altman personally liable for the alleged harm he has caused to Florida residents because of his conduct as CEO, including his "utter 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 is the first state in the U.S. to file a lawsuit against OpenAI, and Uthmeier said during a press conference on Monday that he expects others will follow.
He said the civil suit was filed because OpenAI and Altman are "endangering our kids and deceiving parents into believing that this application is safe for use."
"People are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived, and they need to pay for it," Uthmeier said.
Uthmeier previously launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI in April to determine whether the company bears responsibility for the 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University, where two people were killed.
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