Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, for allegedly deceiving and harming Texans. This is the latest in a flurry of lawsuits filed against Big Tech companies and private corporations by the state’s top lawyer, who is running for U.S. Senate.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in Collin County district court against OpenAI and its founder, Sam Altman. It opens with a 2015 quote attributed to Altman: “AI will probably most likely lead to the end of the world, but in the meantime, there’ll be great companies.”
Paxton asserts that OpenAI has not sufficiently regulated ChatGPT and, as a result, Texans have been harmed.
“Mass shooters have been aided and abetted in deadly rampages, vulnerable people have been encouraged into suicide, professionals have suffered public humiliation, users have lost critical thinking skills, and minors have become addicted to a tool that fakes human compassion to collect their data with no parental oversight,” Paxton’s office said in a press release. “This litany of harms is driven by the company’s insatiable quest to win the AI arms race and amass large fortunes, despite knowing the dangers of ChatGPT.”
Paxton’s office is requesting a wide-ranging injunction that would require the company to block access to its product for minors and secure third-party approval on any new models from a court-appointed evaluator, among other restrictions.
In the last year, Paxton has sued or settled with Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and Roblox under the state’s consumer protection laws, alleging they do not have sufficient guardrails to protect Texans, especially children.
Altman and ChatGPT are top competitors to Elon Musk, the tech billionaire fueling Paxton’s Senate campaign. Musk has created his own AI product, Grok, which has come under fire for allowing users to make “deepfake” pornography based on photos, including of children. While Texas has taken no action against Musk, California’s attorney general has opened an investigation into the matter.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Like much of Paxton’s high-profile tech litigation, the agency is represented by outside counsel, including frequent flyer Ashley Keller and Paxton’s lawyer during his 2023 impeachment proceedings, Tony Buzbee.
Disclosure: Meta has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune within the past five years. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in our journalism. Find a complete list of them and more information about our financial and disclosure policies here.
Source link