State Attorneys General Are Investigating OpenAI

A coalition of states has opened a wide-ranging investigation into the artificial intelligence start-up OpenAI, the company said Saturday, adding to a growing backlash over A.I.

State attorneys general subpoenaed OpenAI on Friday asking for internal documents on its practices, including its handling of user data, safety of minors and advertising activities, according to the company. New York, Colorado and other states are involved in the investigation, according to two people familiar with the probe, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing legal matter.

“We take the concerns raised by state attorneys general seriously and intend to engage constructively with their offices,” OpenAI said in a statement. The company added that the newest version of its model, ChatGPT, includes more safeguards like parental controls to protect children.

“None of this changes what families have gone through, but we are committed to learning, improving, and getting this right,” the company said.

OpenAI declined to provide further details on the investigation, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

A.I. has drawn increasing scrutiny as the number of cases of children harming themselves after using the technology has grown along with A.I.-generated scams. Concerns about the technology’s ability to replace humans, as well as soaring energy costs from the data centers that power it, have added to the angst.

The Trump administration on Friday barred the A.I. start-up Anthropic from allowing foreign nationals access to its new Mythos and Fable 5 A.I. systems, citing national security concerns. President Trump, who until recently took a largely hands off approach to regulating the technology, also signed an executive order this month that asked tech companies to voluntarily give the government oversight of new A.I. models before releasing them to the public.

States have also increasingly taken matters into their own hands. They have introduced dozens of bills this year to put guardrails around A.I. More than 100 state laws now ban chatbots for young users, require system testing for security risks and help protect copyrighted materials from being used by A.I. systems.

(The New York Times has sued OpenAI and its partner, Microsoft, accusing them of copyright infringement of news content related to A.I. systems. OpenAI and Microsoft have denied those claims.)

California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, issued an executive order last month to explore an overhaul of labor policies, an attempt to front run a potential mass job displacement caused by A.I. The order from Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, requires state agencies to work with academics, labor groups and the A.I. industry to study how to subsidize companies that keep employees instead of replacing them with the technology.

State investigations can lead to prolonged and costly lawsuits. In 2023, New Mexico investigated Meta for child safety violations on its social media platforms, including predators’ ability to contact minors. Raúl Torrez, the state’s attorney general, eventually sued the company. In March, he persuaded a jury to award the state $375 million in damages.

Florida became the first state to sue OpenAI earlier this month, arguing in a lawsuit that the company’s chatbot, ChatGPT, posed a risk to children. The company had also failed to disclose the dangers of its product to the public, the state’s lawsuit said.

Florida’s attorney general has also opened a criminal investigation into OpenAI based on a review of messages between the chatbot and the man accused of a deadly shooting at Florida State University last year.

In January, California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, announced an investigation into x.AI, a unit of SpaceX, for generating non-consensual sexualized A.I.-manipulated images of real women and minors. Kentucky has also sued Character.AI, a maker of A.I. companions, for violating state consumer protection laws by exposing children to dangerous uses of the technology.