OpenAI’s legal troubles mount over consumer safety as company responds to multi-state investigation

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, said that it intends to “engage constructively” with state attorneys general after a coalition of them opened a formal investigation into the artificial intelligence (AI) company.

This is lates in a series of legal challenges that are piling up even as the company prepares for a high-profile public listing. According to a report by CNBC, OpenAI’s spokesperson confirmed the company had received the inquiry and would take the concerns “seriously”. “AI is a new and powerful technology, and we work every day to safely bring its benefits to people in a responsible way,” the spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.

The response come after The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI was served with a subpoena seeking information across a range of areas, including the company's approach to advertising, consumer and health data, how it handles minor and senior users, and its AI models.

OpenAI under scrutiny at critical moment

The timing of the investigation is critical because OpenAI announced earlier this week that it had confidentially filed its prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a step that typically precedes a public listing by a matter of months.

The company’s IPO, which could arrive as soon as this year, is expected to be one of the most closely watched market events of the decade.Moreover, earlier this year, OpenAI reached a private valuation of $850 billion, becoming one of the most valuable companies on the planet.The multi-state investigation is only the most recent addition to a growing list of legal challenges. Earlier this month, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that the company knowingly released an unsafe product in ChatGPT.

At a press conference announcing the suit, Uthmeier said he expected other state attorneys general to follow with similar actions, the report said.

What is OpenAI accused of

Open has been sued by seven families of victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting, which took place in Canada in February. Those families allege that the attacker used ChatGPT to plan the attack and that OpenAI failed to take steps that could have prevented it.Separately, OpenAI is facing multiple wrongful death lawsuits in which it is alleged that people had interactions with ChatGPT, and contributed in developing harmful delusions and, in some cases, led to suicide.In response to the mounting scrutiny over user safety, OpenAI's spokesperson pointed to changes the company has made to ChatGPT's behaviour.“Today's ChatGPT includes a more protective experience for minors and people experiencing difficult situations, with safeguards that direct them to real-world resources and trusted human contacts,” the spokesperson said.