“OpenAI claims ChatGPT is safe while it’s giving dangerous medical advice, encouraging people to hurt others, and coaching people to commit suicide – all while pretending to be their fake friend.”
Eight US states have launched co-ordinated lawsuits against OpenAI, requiring changes to how OpenAI’s products operate for younger users, alongside other measures. Photo / 123rf
According to the lawsuits, ChatGPT was designed to be highly agreeable and mimic human empathy, making vulnerable users particularly susceptible to influence.
The filings cite research that allegedly links chatbot use to reduced critical-thinking skills, paranoia, delusions, unhealthy relationships and unsafe medical advice.
The states also point to recent incidents involving advanced OpenAI systems hacking government systems, claiming they demonstrate the technology can act unpredictably and deceive users.
OpenAI rejected the allegations against children, saying it had implemented extensive safeguards to protect young users.
Iowa Attorney-General Brenna Bird said OpenAI had misled parents and consumers about ChatGPT’s risks.
OpenAI spokesman Drew Pusateri said the company had built “industry-leading age-specific protections” into ChatGPT and would continue expanding measures such as parental controls, break reminders and age-appropriate protections.
The lawsuits come two months after OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Teens, a version of the chatbot designed for users aged 13 to 17.
OpenAI says the service includes additional safeguards around topics such as self-harm, violence, eating disorders and sexually explicit content.
However, concerns about the platform’s safeguards for younger users remain. Tech safety organisation Common Sense Media has given ChatGPT for Teens a classification of “Unacceptable Risk” for people under 18.
The allegations by the states echo concerns raised in the Herald’s investigation Under the Influence, part of which examined cases of young people forming intense relationships with AI chatbots and receiving harmful advice during periods of distress.
The litigation adds to a growing wave of legal challenges facing OpenAI and other AI companies over claims that chatbot technology can worsen mental health problems or contribute to harmful behaviour.
According to the Guardian, this is the first time multiple US states have mounted a co-ordinated legal offensive against a major artificial intelligence company.