Florida Asks Court to Bar OpenAI From Developing New Models as Part of Child Harm Lawsuit

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed a motion to halt the development of new artificial intelligence models by OpenAI without an external review in an ongoing case against the company in which ChatGPT is said to have caused harm to minors.

The emergency motion - filed Monday - includes a request for an injunction that would compel OpenAI to have independent reviews of its safeguards in place before it deploys or trains new models. Florida also is requesting steps to bar children from the chat bot.

The Sunshine State sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in June, marking the first U.S. lawsuit against the maker of ChatGPT. A Florida court argued that OpenAI has engaged in harmful business practices by touting ChatGPT's safety. It claimed that ChatGPT has been used in ways that could pose significant harm to children.

Florida has alleged in the state's complaint about self-harm and violence associated with ChatGPT and how the AI tool engages with minors. Florida is seeking monetary damages and changes to the platform and how OpenAI monitors minors.

OpenAI has argued it is taking precautions, saying its models are designed to decline requests that would explicitly promote violence in any reasonable way. The company has also said it is able to report conversations to police where people provide details suggesting the information is sufficiently credible and imminent to cause harm.

The new lawsuit came as OpenAI faces a wave of litigation over supposed to hurt ChatGPT, with families and other plaintiffs filing suits in the US and Canada over supposed self-harm, violence and alleged adequacy of responses to risky exchanges.

Legal threats are also coming out as there is growing conversation about the rate at which AI companies should be pushing out more advanced models and the kind of safety measures that need to be in place before the systems are exposed to users. Former Google trust and safety boss Tom Siegel has pushed for stronger independent safety measures.

Florida's motion does not enjoin OpenAI from creating subsequent models. The injunction sought by the state must be granted by a court, and the matter is still pending before the courts.

The decision could also have consequences outside of Florida if the court chooses to set standards that shape how future systems are built and tested by OpenAI. For now, the case is another headache for the company as regulators, legislatures and families more closely examine the safety of AI and its safeguards for kids.