Florida moves to ban ChatGPT from being treated as a person
ai-safety openai
| Source: The Verge | Original article
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier asks a judge to block OpenAI from portraying ChatGPT with human‑like attributes, after the state sued the company over AI safety concerns.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has asked a state judge to bar OpenAI from presenting ChatGPT with “false human attributes,” arguing that the chatbot’s conversational style misleads users into a “false sense of security.” The request follows a lawsuit filed earlier this year in which the AG claimed the AI service posed safety risks for Floridians.
Uthmeier’s latest motion seeks a court order that would restrict OpenAI from framing the model as if it were a person, a step he says is necessary to prevent the technology from “lulling” users into believing they are interacting with a human‑like entity. The move underscores growing concerns among regulators that anthropomorphic design cues can obscure the limitations of generative AI, potentially encouraging risky reliance on its outputs.
The case builds on Florida’s recent legal actions against OpenAI. As we reported on 28 September, the state’s attorney general filed an emergency injunction aimed at halting ChatGPT development, citing the company’s inability to adequately control its technology. The new request adds a specific focus on the chatbot’s presentation rather than its underlying capabilities.
What to watch next: the judge’s ruling will signal how aggressively state authorities are willing to intervene in AI product design. A decision in favor of the AG could force OpenAI and other providers to redesign user interfaces, add clearer disclosures, or limit marketing language that suggests human‑like cognition. The outcome may also influence other jurisdictions considering similar restrictions and could intersect with broader legislative efforts, such as the Human Control Over AI Act being drafted at the federal level.
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