States sue AI giant OpenAI, saying its popular chatbot is hurting children and deceiving adults

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — At least eight states are suing artificial intelligence giant OpenAI, saying the company’s popular chatbot model violated state consumer protection laws by hurting children and deceiving adults.

The company’s chatbot model, ChatGPT, is giving dangerous medical advice, encouraging paranoia and coaching people to hurt others or commit suicide, Iowa’s lawsuit said. At the same time, the chatbots are pretending to be agreeable and compassionate while preying on the vulnerable, according to the lawsuit.

“OpenAI is hurting kids and they are lying to Iowans,” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said in a statement.

In a statement, OpenAI said it has already built safety protections into ChatGPT for children, and that it would continue to do so to improve the model.

The wave of lawsuits are the latest filed by states under their consumer protection laws, accusing tech giants that offer AI chatbots and social media platforms of harming children. The states that filed separate lawsuits Wednesday in state courts are Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia.

In its lawsuit, Arizona said ChatGPT encourages teens to share personal information with it and, at times, discourages them from sharing that information with parents, authorities or friends.

ChatGPT is the most popular chatbot in the world, commanding nearly half the American marketplace, according to the lawsuits.

In August, Meta agreed to add stronger child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms in an $18 billion landmark legal settlement that ended a trial over teen social media addiction and settled claims filed by nearly every state.

Coordinated, multistate lawsuits against the tech industry have borne fruit. Although the safety measures that Meta agreed to adopt did not apply industrywide, the company quickly urged its competitors to adopt similar measures.

OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said in a statement that the company is committed to working with states on “advancing pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire AI industry — not just one company.”

ChatGPT is intended for users age 13 and older, and users under 18 need permission from a parent or guardian to use it, OpenAI said. The chatbot model for teens has safeguards that are designed to reduce exposure to self-harm, violence, eating disorders and explicit sexual or graphic content, it said.

Nearly nine in 10 teens who use ChatGPT use it for learning, information, skill-building or productivity, the company said. On average, teens spend under 15 minutes a day on ChatGPT, it said.

ChatGPT provides break reminders for periods of extended use and OpenAI said it works with external experts who review policies and the model’s behavior.

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