ChatGPT owner is accused in the US of causing harm to children

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI
Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP
The attorney general of Florida, in the United States, sued this Monday (1st) OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman. They are accused of putting younger users at risk by making them dependent on and promoting harmful behavior through ChatGPT.
Attorney James Uthmeier accused OpenAI of failing to implement rules to verify users' ages.
"We have filed a monumental civil lawsuit against Sam Altman and ChatGPT for putting our children in danger and misleading parents into believing it is a safe app to use. It clearly is not," Uthmeier said in a statement. press conference.
"We know that ChatGPT can be addictive. It mimics empathy and human characteristics to trick users into providing more information," Uthmeier added.
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OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.
In the lawsuit, reviewed by AFP, Uthmeier pointed to loss of sleep, poorer school performance and reduced social interactions among teenagers who use chatbots from Character.AI, a competitor of OpenAI, according to a recent study by Drexel University, in the USA.
The action states that, "despite public knowledge about the use of ChatGPT by minors, including pre-teens, the defendants did not take measures to prevent its use".
The lawsuit also points out that "the free version of ChatGPT does not have any control or age verification mechanism". to inform parents about conversations held by minors with ChatGPT".
In January, OpenAI introduced a system that estimates the age of users. If it identifies a minor, it applies additional protection measures.
Use of ChatGPT is prohibited for children under 13 and requires parental consent for users between 13 and 17.
Uthmeier also cited a report from the Center for Combating Digital Hate (CCDH), which had several conversations with ChatGPT posing as a teenager.
According to the report, the chatbot provided advice on how to hide eating habits and such as planning a suicide or engaging in self-harm.
"We believe that OpenAI, its ChatGPT, and Sam Altman personally are responsible for an amount that could potentially reach billions of dollars."

Source: G1