Florida becomes first state to sue OpenAI over unsafe AI

Florida has become the first U.S. state to file a lawsuit against the artificial intelligence company OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman. The civil complaint, announced Monday by Attorney General James Uthmeier, alleges the company knowingly released an unsafe product, prioritized profit over safety, and caused a range of harms to users.

The 83-page lawsuit accuses OpenAI of deceptive and unfair trade practices, negligence, product liability violations, fraudulent misrepresentation, and creating a public nuisance. It claims the company’s ChatGPT chatbot was deliberately designed to foster emotional dependence, collect sensitive personal data, and keep users engaged regardless of consequences. The filing alleges these practices have led to a “great danger of addiction, cognitive decline, suicide, violence, and related harms.”

A central allegation involves the chatbot’s role in violent incidents. The lawsuit cites the April 2025 shooting at Florida State University, where the alleged gunman, Phoenix Ikner, is said to have used ChatGPT to assist in planning an attack that killed two people and wounded six. The state argues these conversations illustrate a broader failure by OpenAI to...