'AI Should Advance Mankind, Not Destroy It': Why Florida Is Taking Aim at OpenAI

In brief

• Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced an investigation into OpenAI and its ChatGPT chatbot.
• The probe cites national security concerns and alleged links between ChatGPT and criminal activity.
• Similar scrutiny and lawsuits have also targeted other AI chatbots, including Grok and Google’s Gemini.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Thursday that his office has launched an investigation into OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT chatbot.

In a statement posted on X, Uthmeier said the probe will examine whether the company’s artificial intelligence systems pose risks related to national security, criminal misuse, and child safety as governments increase scrutiny of generative AI platforms.

“Today, we formally launch an investigation into OpenAI, and subpoenas are forthcoming,” Uthmeier said. “The development and rollout of artificial intelligence is a monumental leap in technology, but it is not without concern for public safety and national security.”

"AI should advance mankind, not destroy it," he wrote on X.

Today, we launched an investigation into OpenAI and ChatGPT.

AI should advance mankind, not destroy it. We’re demanding answers on OpenAI’s activities that have hurt kids, endangered Americans, and facilitated the recent FSU mass shooting.

Wrongdoers must be held accountable. pic.twitter.com/vRVCqIYKnB

— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) April 9, 2026

Uthmeier said officials are also reviewing whether foreign adversaries could access data gathered by OpenAI.

“AI is built on its ability to gather data, and there are concerns about whether OpenAI's data and AI technologies that could be used against America are falling into the hands of America's enemies, such as the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.

The attorney general also referenced allegations that ChatGPT has appeared in investigations involving harmful or illegal activity.

“OpenAI's ChatGPT has also been linked to criminal behavior, including child sex abuse material use by child predators and the encouragement of suicide and self-harm,” he said.

Uthmeier said investigators are reviewing reports that the chatbot may have been used by the suspect in a 2025 shooting at Florida State University that killed two people and injured several others. Lawyers for the family of one victim have said the alleged gunman was in “constant communication with ChatGPT” before the attack, and alleged that the chatbot may have advised him on how to carry out the attack.