A coalition of state attorneys general has launched an investigation into OpenAI.
The company was was served with a subpoena by the New York attorney general on Fridayaccording to the Wall Street Journal. That subpoena sought documents related to a wide range of topics, including the company’s advertising, user engagement and retention, model obfuscation, handling of consumer and health data, and treatment of minors and the elderly.
“Artificial intelligence is a new and powerful technology, and we work every day to safely deliver its benefits to people in a responsible way,” an OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement. “We take seriously the concerns raised by the attorneys general and intend to work constructively with their offices.”
The spokesperson also said, “Today’s ChatGPT includes a more protective experience for minors and people in difficult situations, with safeguards that direct them to real resources and trusted human contacts. We believe children should be treated like children, which is why we’ve created age prediction, released parent tools to guide their children in using AI that targets children, and bans.”
The company did not specify which states are involved in the investigation or share more details about the information requested. TechCrunch has also reached out to the New York attorney general’s office for confirmation.
OpenAI recently defeated co-founder Elon Musk in a high-profile lawsuit after Musk accused the company of violating its founding agreement. (Musk’s main lawyer said he would appeal the decision.)
However, OpenAI still faces lawsuits over everything from alleged copyright infringement to ChatGPT’s alleged role in user suicides. Earlier this month, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging that OpenAI and Altman “ignored internal and external safety warnings, put children at great risk and allowed a dangerous product to reach millions of Floridians.”
Altman recently apologized to the community of Tumbler Ridge, Canada following a mass shooting. acknowledged that OpenAI failed to notify law enforcement after the company flagged and banned the suspected shooter’s ChatGPT account.
The company announced this week that it has filed confidentially to go public.
This post has been updated with a statement from an OpenAI spokesperson.
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