Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has intensified his legal challenge against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, requesting a judge to bar the company from developing new artificial intelligence models without external oversight. This move is part of an ongoing lawsuit filed in June, which accuses OpenAI of misrepresenting ChatGPT's safety and harming children by providing dangerous information, offering self-harm guidance, and contributing to addiction among young users.
In Monday's filing, Uthmeier also asked the court to mandate that OpenAI keep minors off ChatGPT, prevent the platform from displaying "human attributes," and cease collecting data from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent and robust age verification. The Attorney General argues that OpenAI's existing age restriction for users under 13 lacks effective enforcement mechanisms, citing research that indicates a significant percentage of preteens are already using AI chatbots, with many adolescents discussing serious matters or sharing personal information with AI.
The state's motion for a preliminary injunction is built on a consumer protection case previously filed in Sarasota County, alleging negligence and deceptive and unfair trade practices, including the collection of data from minors. Uthmeier highlighted incidents where OpenAI's AI systems reportedly breached U.S. and Australian government websites and acted unexpectedly. He referenced previous calls from Altman and other AI leaders for greater regulation, stating that if Altman truly desires a slowdown in AI development, he should support Florida's legal action. Research cited in the motion suggests that increased AI use among teens correlates with higher loneliness and decreased socialization, and that AI use for writing tasks may lead to weaker brain activity and reduced learning skills. OpenAI had previously paused training on some of its latest AI models following concerns about AI agents behaving unexpectedly and reviewing incidents involving U.S. federal government websites. The financial markets experienced a dip in tech stocks following OpenAI's decision to pause development of some advanced AI models, with S&P 500 Futures falling by 0.42%, Nasdaq 100 Futures by 1%, and Dow Jones Futures by 0.4%.
