Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, for allegedly deceiving and harming Texans. It’s the latest in a series of lawsuits filed against big tech and private companies by the state’s top lawyer, a candidate 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 lead to the end of the world, but in the meantime there will be big companies. »
Paxton claims that OpenAI failed to adequately regulate ChatGPT and, as a result, Texans were harmed.
“Mass shooters were aided and abetted in deadly rampages, vulnerable people were encouraged to commit suicide, professionals suffered public humiliation, users lost critical thinking, and minors became dependent on a tool that simulates human compassion to collect their data without parental supervision,” Paxton’s office said in a press release. “This litany of harm is driven by the company’s insatiable quest to win the AI arms race and amass great fortunes, even as it knows the dangers of ChatGPT.”
Paxton’s office is seeking a wide-ranging injunction that would require the company to block minors from accessing its product and obtain third-party approval on any new designs from a court-appointed reviewer, among other restrictions.
Over the past year, Paxton has sued or settled with Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and Roblox under state consumer protection laws, alleging they did not have sufficient safeguards to protect Texans, particularly children.
OpenAI has a storied history with Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who is the largest donor behind Paxton’s Senate campaign, who has shelled out nearly $200 million to support the candidate. After helping found the company, Musk left the company in 2018 amid a bitter conflict with Altman over the company’s direction and ownership structure. OpenAI later launched ChatGPT and Musk launched his own company, xAI.
In 2024, Musk sued OpenAI and Altman for $1.5 billion, a suit that was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge, paving the way for ChatGPT to dominate the market. Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, has had its own scandals, coming under fire for allowing users to create “deepfake” pornography from photos, including of children. Although Texas has not taken any action against Musk, the California attorney general has opened an investigation into the matter.
An OpenAI spokesperson said the company had worked with experts to mitigate risks and put additional safeguards in place.
“Governments have an important role to play in establishing robust safety standards for AI, and we are committed to working with Texas and other states to advance 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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