Florida sues OpenAI, Sam Altman after multiple ChatGPT-linked murders - Ars Technica

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On Monday, Florida became the first state to sue OpenAI over ChatGPT’s allegedly dangerous design.

In a complaint filed in state court, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier accused OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, of prioritizing profits over the safety of Floridians.

The civil lawsuit comes after Florida opened an unrelated criminal probe into OpenAI, following a ChatGPT-linked mass shooting where two people were killed at Florida State University. In statements, OpenAI has insisted that ChatGPT isn’t responsible for the FSU shooting, merely providing factual information, but Uthmeier does not seem to agree. In his complaint, Uthmeier noted that Florida has now been blindsided by two violent events where suspects used ChatGPT to assist in planning.

“Horrifically, ChatGPT has aided and abetted in more than one multiple murder in the State of Florida,” Uthmeier’s complaint said. “The 2026 deaths of University of South Florida graduate students Nahida Bristy and Zamil Limon were also plotted using ChatGPT, which advised Hisham Abugharbieh on how to dispose of bodies, change VIN numbers on a car, and whether cars were checked at the crime scene.”

Uthmeier then went on to list all the ways ChatGPT has allegedly fueled violence. In 2025, ChatGPT was blamed for encouraging several users to commit suicide, including teenager Adam Raine and a 56-year-old bodybuilder who murdered his mother based on a ChatGPT-hallucinated conspiracy.

More recently, in February, a man with mental health struggles killed his wife and attacked his mother “after talking with ChatGPT several hours a day and coming to believe robots were taking over the world, ” Uthmeier said. And a small mining town in Canada was shocked by a school shooting that claimed nine lives the same month. Altman later apologized for not alerting law enforcement about the shooter’s ChatGPT logs, which some believe could have averted the shooting.

The real-world violence isn’t the only reason why Florida wants ChatGPT enjoined from causing harm to users while being marketed as safe. The state’s complaint also accuses OpenAI of designing the chatbot to be addictive and destructive to children and adults. Beyond the chatbot’s sycophancy feeding into users’ delusions, ChatGPT is advertised as safe to use, but studies show it can cause loss of cognitive functions, Florida’s complaint alleged. Chatbots posing as medical professionals or therapists are also problematic, the complaint said, citing a recent wrongful death lawsuit alleging that ChatGPT encouraged a 19-year-old to mix Kratom with Xanax.

Florida points to all these harms and more, while seeking maximum civil damages for alleged violations of unfair trade laws.

“As these examples show, ChatGPT proactively aids, abets, and promotes dangerous activities and is a threat to the public safety of Floridians,” the lawsuit said. Meanwhile, “defendants make money through ChatGPT, affirming whatever users tell it and drawing them deeper into delusions.”

In a statement, OpenAI did not mention the attorney general and instead focused on recent child safety updates.

“Losing a child is the most devastating tragedy that can happen to a family and we know that no words can come close to addressing the pain of such a loss,” OpenAI’s spokesperson said. “AI is a new and powerful technology, and we believe minors need significant protection, which is why we have put in place industry leading protections and policies. In particular we built safety for minors directly into our products, including a more protective experience specifically for minors, an age prediction tool, defaulting users whose age we are not confident into our more protective experience, and giving parents tools to monitor their kids’ use of AI. We know pointing to this work will not bring a child back, but we’re committed to getting this right.”

Altman accused of making ChatGPT unsafe

The lawsuit joins prior suits accusing Altman of callously deploying AI systems without regard for user safety.

In his complaint, Uthmeier recalled how Altman told TED2025 attendees that right now “the stakes are relatively low” for OpenAI to safety-test its products on real users, which he claimed is the only way to iteratively improve them.

“But the stakes aren’t low,” Uthmeier said. “Floridians—including our vulnerable children—have suffered monetary loss, mental health harms, cognitive decline, and physical harm from Defendants’...