Florida Sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, Accusing Them of Putting Profit Over Safety (variety.com) 42
Florida's attorney general has sued (PDF) OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging the company prioritized growth and market value over user safety and failed to adequately warn about risks tied to ChatGPT. The lawsuit, the first by a U.S. state over OpenAI safety concerns, is separate from a criminal investigation the state opened into OpenAI in April. Variety reports: In the 83-page complaint filed in Florida circuit court, the state claimed OpenAI's rise was backed by "a web of deceit and the exploitation of users (including Floridians), leveraging their data and safety to boost OpenAI's market value at unacceptable costs." The state wants to hold Altman "personally liable for the harm he has caused Floridians through his reckless and willful conduct as founder and CEO of OpenAI, including his utter disregard for the risk to human life caused by his firms' conduct."
[...] Throughout the complaint, filed in the state's circuit court of the 10th judicial circuit, the State of Florida claimed OpenAI's "careless introduction" of ChatGPT had led to an increase in murders and suicides. The suit alleged Florida's minors have "become addicted to a tool that feigns human compassion to collect their data with no parental oversight." It cited instances in the past year of the alleged use of ChatGPT to plan a mass shooting at Florida State University in April 2025 and the murders of two graduate students at the University of South Florida in April. "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 state wrote in the complaint.
Florida accused OpenAI of four counts of deceptive and unfair trade practices, two counts of negligence, two counts of violating product liability laws, one count of fraudulent misrepresentation and another count of causing a public nuisance. It is seeking civil penalties and court orders demanding OpenAI restrict the data it collects from minors and that it stop "continuing to misrepresent or fail to warn of the risks of ChatGPT." "People are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived and they need to pay for it by opening up their checkbooks and changing the program to ensure there are parental controls," Uthmeimer said at a press conference Monday.
[...] Throughout the complaint, filed in the state's circuit court of the 10th judicial circuit, the State of Florida claimed OpenAI's "careless introduction" of ChatGPT had led to an increase in murders and suicides. The suit alleged Florida's minors have "become addicted to a tool that feigns human compassion to collect their data with no parental oversight." It cited instances in the past year of the alleged use of ChatGPT to plan a mass shooting at Florida State University in April 2025 and the murders of two graduate students at the University of South Florida in April. "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 state wrote in the complaint.
Florida accused OpenAI of four counts of deceptive and unfair trade practices, two counts of negligence, two counts of violating product liability laws, one count of fraudulent misrepresentation and another count of causing a public nuisance. It is seeking civil penalties and court orders demanding OpenAI restrict the data it collects from minors and that it stop "continuing to misrepresent or fail to warn of the risks of ChatGPT." "People are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived and they need to pay for it by opening up their checkbooks and changing the program to ensure there are parental controls," Uthmeimer said at a press conference Monday.
Florida has a problem with profit over safety? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Florida has a problem with profit over safety? (Score:5, Insightful)
I think they have a problem with Elon's enemies.
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You're way behind the curve my friend. Doubly so if you're comparing your experience with technology in other situations and applying them to this one. Triply so if you're allowing yourself to be fooled by a demo this week when you saw the thing shit itself last week, as if there's some linear improvement curve that's been followed.
Skilled, experienced developers try to avoid writing code that can't be maintained. They understand that investment in code isn't just in the code, but also in the thing the code
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Human life, while commonly celebrated, is chronically overvalued in western societies across the economic spectrum. I, for one, welcome our new euthanasia overlords! We cannot allow a euthanasia gap!
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Why would you make that assumption? I just don't know anything about eastern societies. (shrug)
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HEIL!
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Waitnig for the AI suicide booths.
Didn't Bender get into an argument with the booth in S1Et?
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"slow and horrible, please!"
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Why is the state accelerating this while healthcare waitlists remain broken?
The state funds it, private companies implement it. 219 people were euthanized within one day of their request is a business efficiency meeting a KPI. A private firm gets paid per kill and makes a profit from it and somebody gets to buy their kiddiwinks a present.
That's fucked up
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Politicos+Corpo C-Suite hate 99% of humanity and want them replaced with automatons.
Remember, the point of the game is to be the last man sitting on a pile of 8 Billion+ skulls, finally secure in the knowledge that they have WON!
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Canada offered assisted suicide to a Paralympian veteran who wanted a wheelchair lift installed
You can quote anything you want, but a quick search shows it was one fucked up case worker, not a government policy.
Nope, we Americans get stereotyped for our crazies, then so can Canada.
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I mean most of these networks just tell you what you want to hear for the most part.
That's the problem. They can be obsequious and sycophantic, even when interlocuting with someone contemplating violence or suicide.
I have a hard time blaming any AI model at this point to be honest with you.
So do I. But it makes sense to blame the company that created the technology.
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So who is to blame when someone uses a model that has had the safety rails deliberately stripped off, like a Heretic or Abliterix fine tune? These are generally couched in "for research purposes only" terms, but I use an Abliterix fine tune of Gemma 4 26B-A4B as my "daily driver". It absolutely never refuses anything, although it spends a lot of time patting itself on the back for understanding what I say well enough to paraphrase it (reasonably) accurately.
Someone should tell Desantis (Score:2)
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ima just gonna hoard some emp.
Really? (Score:2)
Florida calling out insane corporate behavior in the name of profits was not on my bingo card for this week.
That said, suing one company over putting profit above safety seems a little small-scale. That's seems to be the priority of all businesses now, and anything ahead of profit tend to get blasted for it by Wall Street or "investors."
Re:Really? (Score:4, Insightful)
Watch how this will turn into something to push grok instead.
Protect Racket (Score:3, Insightful)
From what the government filed and what it announced, I do not see a narrow, clean “we found one harmed person and we are fixing it” effort. I see a two pronged pressure play built to push OpenAI toward a settlement or a judge ordered set of rules.
Florida is taking a two-part approach to tackle this issue. First, they're filing a civil lawsuit. The state's Attorney General is specifically targeting OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, along with other individuals. This isn't just about going after a company, it's about putting pressure on the people in charge. By naming them personally, Florida is turning up the heat and making it more likely that they'll settle.
The state isn't just saying that some people used a tool in a bad way. They're saying that OpenAI and its leaders promoted and ran the tool in ways that were deceptive or unfair, which goes against Florida's consumer protection laws. They're also adding a claim of "public nuisance," which means they think the tool is causing harm to the community as a whole. This approach shows that Florida is serious about holding OpenAI and its leaders accountable for their actions.
The state of Florida is seeking two main things from this civil case: financial penalties and control over how the product operates within the state. The financial penalties would serve as a form of punishment, while the control would come in the form of a court order that dictates how the product is managed, particularly when it comes to minors. There's a strong emphasis on protecting children under the age of 13, as well as enforcing strict rules around kids' data.
This approach is often referred to as the "think of the children" tactic, which can be a powerful emotional trigger. It's also a politically convenient move, as it shifts the focus away from the role of parents in supervising their kids and onto the company instead of the state. By doing so, it creates a narrative that puts the onus on the company and the government to ensure children's safety, rather than emphasizing the importance of parental responsibility. This strategy can be effective in swaying public opinion and garnering support for the state's cause.
The state of Florida is trying to show that something needs to be done right away by pointing to some big examples that grab people's attention. These examples include advice that supposedly leads to violence, self-harm and interactions with young users that sound like addiction. They're using the FSU shooting as a strong example to make their point.
The state of Florida has a second approach to deal with the situation, which is a criminal investigation related to the shooting incident. The government is looking into the possibility of assigning criminal responsibility, such as determining whether a particular tool contributed to the crime. Even if the investigation doesn't lead to any charges, it can still be useful in gathering information and gaining leverage.
The subpoenas issued during the investigation can compel OpenAI to provide internal documents, including policies, training materials, safety protocols and procedures for escalating issues. Any evidence that comes to light can then be used to support claims in the civil case, such as allegations that the company was aware of certain issues or that their public statements about safety didn't match their internal actions. In essence, the criminal investigation can help generate evidence that makes the civil case stronger.
This approach allows the government to build a stronger case and increase pressure on the company to take responsibility for their actions. By exploring the criminal aspects of the case, the government can gain a better understa
Tackling the real issue is hard. (Score:2)
If American politicians really wanted to do something about shootings and suicides they'd look at introducing meaningful firearm controls, most notably penalties for misuse, stop glorifying guns and violence (fix the culture behind the shootings) and do something to help the mental health of Americans (starting with the bullying that has become endemic to American culture)... But that's all way too sensible where you can just blame the right AI for all
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maybe they can also have a 1.8 billion settlement shared with maralago
Profit over safety (Score:3)
They just want revenge for not helping Trump (Score:2)