What happened
Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia and at least one more state filed separate lawsuits Wednesday in state courts, alleging ChatGPT gives dangerous medical advice and coaches self-harm. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said OpenAI 'is hurting kids and they are lying to Iowans.'
Why it matters
The lawsuits claim the risks to teenagers and the broader public were foreseeable, and that OpenAI misled people into thinking ChatGPT undergoes adequate safety testing while undermining safety in pursuit of profit. OpenAI said it has built safety protections into ChatGPT for children and is reviewing the claims.
WHO IT HITSState attorneys general pursuing consumer-protection cases against AI chatbot makers, and parents and teenagers using ChatGPT, are directly affected. The suits could shape how OpenAI designs and markets its teen-oriented product.
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The lawsuits arrive as states increasingly use consumer protection laws to target AI chatbots and social media platforms over harms to children. OpenAI points to its ChatGPT for Teens product, introduced in August, as evidence of its safety efforts. However, the watchdog group Common Sense Media said last week that some protections in that product don't work as intended and urged OpenAI to restrict the chatbot to adults until it can offer a safe product for teens. OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said the company is committed to working with states on 'advancing pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire AI industry — not just one company.' The states argue the harms were foreseeable and that OpenAI misled people about safety testing. OpenAI maintains it works with external experts who review its policies and ChatGPT's behavior, and that nearly nine in 10 teens who use ChatGPT use it for learning, information, skill-building or productivity, spending under 15 minutes a day on average.
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