OpenAI faces lawsuits from 8 states over ChatGPT's impact on children

Eight states have filed consumer protection lawsuits against OpenAI, alleging the company deceived parents and harmed children through its ChatGPT chatbot.

The lawsuits were filed separately in state courts by the attorneys general of Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana.

The states are seeking financial penalties against OpenAI, as well as court-ordered safeguards for ChatGPT.

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Responding to a lawsuit filed in Florida, OpenAI said it has “put in place industry-leading protections and policies.”

Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador said OpenAI has "misled the public" about the safety of its popular AI chatbot, ChatGPT.

"Designed to be overly agreeable, accommodating, and to feign human compassion and connection, ChatGPT has proven dangerous to vulnerable users, like children, to even include coaching its users to commit suicide or to harm other people," the attorney general's office stated in a news release.

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Officials say the lawsuit also references "a growing body of research" indicating ChatGPT may harm critical thinking skills, encourage paranoia and delusions, offer dubious medical advice, and promote unhealthy behaviors and relationships.