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.
OpenAI has a fraught history with Elon Musk, the tech trillionaire who is the largest single donor behind Paxton’s Senate campaign, dropping nearly $200 million to support the candidate. After helping found the company, Musk left in 2018 amid a bitter conflict with Altman over the direction and ownership structure of the company. OpenAI subsequently launched ChatGPT and Musk started his own company, xAI.
In 2024, Musk sued OpenAI and Altman for $1.5 billion, a suit that was ultimately thrown out by a federal judge, clearing the way for ChatGPT to dominate the market. Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, has had it’s own scandals, coming 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.
A spokesperson for OpenAI said the company has worked with experts to mitigate risks and build additional safeguards.
“Governments have an important role to play in setting robust safety standards for AI, and we’re committed to working with Texas and other states on advancing pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire AI industry — not just one company,” the OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement.
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.
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