MAGA Florida AG Seeks Injunction To Impose 3rd Party Overview On AI

Why should any serious tech master of the universe care about some obscure local pol attempting to interfere with a trans-galactic force like AI? Because when the notoriously MAGA - and ambitiously self-promoting - attorney general of a deep red state like Florida decides there is political gain to be had in attacking AI, then it safe to assume that AI, data centers, tech billionaires and all the related encumbrances are now so irretrievably toxic to the public at large that it threatens AI's already questionable growth projections. And that adds to concerns that the people likely to be elected next month are going to even less welcoming to AI than are the growing legion of local officials already throwing up roadblocks to stop data centers and other AI elements. 

The Florida AG seeks an injunction preventing ANY new AI models - from any company - without third-party protections. This is directly in defiance of the Trumpian free pass position which he reiterated to slavishly adoring billionaire tech bro leaders this week. And it means that, at the local political level, Trump's position no longer matters when it comes to AI. Be forewarned. JL

Andrew Atterbury reports in Politico:

Florida Republican state Attorney General James Uthmeier intensified his fight with OpenAI and its founder Sam Altman on Monday by asking a Florida court to stop the tech giant from further developing its AI technology while their legal battle plays out.  In his latest push to put guardrails around AI, Uthmeier is attempting to leverage the recent panic about the technology’s unchecked growth in Washington and beyond as proof ChatGPT and other AI models are dangerous products. Uthmeier is seeking an injunction against OpenAI that would prevent the company from advancing new AI models without third-party approved protections, and cut off minors from using its popular chatbot.  the entire AI industry – not just one company. Republican state Attorney General James Uthmeier intensified his fight with OpenAI and its founder Sam Altman on Monday by asking a Florida court to stop the tech giant from further developing its artificial intelligence technology while their legal battle plays out.  

In his latest push to put guardrails around AI, Uthmeier is attempting to leverage the recent panic about the technology’s unchecked growth in Washington and beyond as proof that ChatGPT and other AI models are dangerous products. Uthmeier is seeking an injunction against OpenAI that would prevent the company from advancing new AI models without third-party approved protections, and cut off minors from using its popular chatbot.  the entire AI industry – not just one company. 

” if Sam Altman meant what he said about slowing down, he can join our ask to the court,” Uthmeier said Monday in a video posted to social media. “If he will not, we ask the court to do what OpenAI will not do for itself — protect Florida families.”  

In response to the legal maneuver, OpenAI officials maintain the company is being transparent about the behavior of its technology and cooperating with Florida as leaders there and across the country consider new AI regulations.  

“People want to know AI is being developed safely, and that starts with what companies like ours do ourselves,” Drew Pusateri, an OpenAI spokesperson, said in a statement. “On Friday, we announced we’ve paused training our most capable models and will resume training only when we are confident that we have additional safeguards in place. Governments have an important role to play in setting robust safety standards for AI, and we’re committed to working with Florida and other states on advancing pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire AI industry – not just one company.”  

Florida, led by Uthmeier, sued OpenAI and Altman in June through a first-of-its-kind lawsuit claiming the company aggressively marketed an unsafe product and allowed ChatGPT to run rampant in aiding violent crimes. The challenge centers on two recent high-profile cases Uthmeier accuses of of assisting, including the 2025 campus shooting at Florida State University, as he argues the tech product is putting Floridians at risk.  

OpenAI officials, for their part, have stood by their safety protocols as they fight the lawsuit. Uthmeier took the lawsuit further Monday by pressing for an injunction that would at least install temporary safeguards around AI development.  

Among the asks, Florida, as Uthmeier explained, wants: “No new model development without independent safety guardrails; no more harvesting children’s data; no more calling this product safe, accurate, or reliable; no more pretending it’s human; no more tricks designed to keep users talking past the point of danger.” 

In making his argument, Uthmeier drew on public statements from current and former AI officials, Altman included, raising alarm bells about the technology, expressing a sudden openness to slowing down its growth and welcoming potential regulations. 

Additionally, Uthmeier cited newly disclosed breaches of U.S. and Australian government websites, along with reports of OpenAI agents going rogue and carrying out an autonomous cyberattack on developer platform Hugging Face, as proof of why an injunction is necessary. “The Court must stop [OpenAI and Altman] from recklessly advancing these systems while this case progresses,” Uthmeier wrote in the motion. “It is a rare request for an injunction where the Defendants themselves have publicly endorsed it.” 

The newest legal volley from Uthmeier, a leading Republican AI skeptic along with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, comes at a critical time for the technology. 

Calls from policymakers in the U.S. and abroad to regulate AI are growing louder amid dire warnings from researchers and developers, yet there is largely inaction from Congress as the Trump administration pushes for a national regulatory framework. As a result, states are propping up their own AI defenses by targeting how it’s used in education and elsewhere. 

Uthmeier, who is running for election in November, has asked Florida’s Legislature for the authority to criminally charge tech companies when their chatbots assist in crimes.