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Florida is now the first state to sue Open AAI and its CEO Sam Alman over claims its chat GPT program is putting profits over public safety. After a month of investigating, Attorney General James Umeer announced the civil suit this morning. W's Melanie Levy is joining us now in studio. And Melanie Umer says he wants to hold Open AI accountable for disregard to human life. Hannah, that's exactly right. And today I spoke to one mom who says an AI chatbot almost convinced her son to kill himself and kill his parents. He tried to harm himself severely a couple times. Um tried to take his own life and ended up in a mental hospital. Texas mom Mandy Furnis says her son downloaded an AI chatbot app in 2023. And it told him that killing us was justification
um for us taking his phone, telling him to cut his own skin to deal with his anxiety and depression. He just had the light from his eyes turned dark. Over several months, she says he turned into a completely different person, withdrawn and angry. Started taking his phone away. He would like visit like physically like try to punch me and bite me and get it back and it was something that he had never ever done before. Furnace says her son spent 10 months in a mental health facility recovering from what specialists said was sexual and emotional abuse at the hands of the bot.
Florida Attorney General James Um Meyer says it's instances like these that fueled his civil lawsuit against Open AI. In 2025, Texas team Sam Nelson died after Chat GPT advised him on dosages of Xanax. In 2025, Chat GPT manipulated Joshua Eniking into his suicide. In February 2026, Samuel Whitmore brutally killed his wife and attacked his mother in Belfast, Maine. After talking with Chat GPT several hours a day, people are getting hurt, parents are getting deceived, and they need to pay for it. They need to pay for it by opening up their checkbook and changing the program to ensure that there are parental controls and that we are not endangering our kids.
Open AAI released a statement in response to the lawsuit, reading in part, AAI is a new and powerful technology, and we believe minors need significant protection, which is why we have put in place industry-leading protections and policies. We know pointing to this work will not bring a child back, but we're committed to getting this right. Furnace says the damage AI caused her family can't be undone, but she's hopeful Umer's actions will set a precedent for the rest of the nation to follow. Our foundation of our country is we the people and I really feel like people are actually listening to the people now and it makes me really grateful.
Oath Meyer says 72% of teens nationwide have used AI for companionship at least once. And he reports children eight years old and even younger than that are getting their hands on this technology. Live in the studio, I'm Melanie Levy, WER News.
