OpenAI's biggest problem

Florida is now OpenAI's biggest problem in red America

Top Florida pols are making AI regulation a key issue, pushing legislation, lawsuits and campaign messages.

By Andrew Atterbury and Kimberly Leonard

Florida Republicans, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Attorney General James Uthmeier, are applying more pressure than any other red state to regulate artificial intelligence — turning Florida into the biggest threat against AI in conservative America.

Beyond Florida state lawmakers earlier this year mounting two DeSantis-backed attempts to pass AI regulations, Uthmeier this week launched a lawsuit to strongarm OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman into creating safeguards for its ChatGPT bot, a legal maneuver that could inspire other states to act.

“We’re going to make them pay for hurting our kids,” Uthmeier said Monday.

And Rep. Byron Donalds, Trump’s pick to succeed DeSantis as governor of the state they all call home, said Monday that he disagreed with the president on regulating AI. The GOP front-runner said that while Trump has called for a national framework, he wants states to regulate the technology given that Congress failed to quickly address numerous popular issues.

Donalds made the comments despite AI cash pouring into his campaign coffers, with the pro-AI political action committee Leading the Future planning to spend at least $5 million to boost his candidacy.

His comments, as well as others from GOP gubernatorial candidates former state House Speaker Paul Renner, Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and investor James Fishback pledging to hold a hard line on AI, all but ensure Florida will continue trying to govern the technology at the state level beyond the end of DeSantis’ administration.

The moves also signal that Florida Republicans are willing to buck Trump — and tech money flowing into their campaigns — to take a stand against AI, which is seen as an existential threat among voters who fear technology will make their jobs obsolete, data centers will be housed in their communities and cyberattacks and sophisticated scams could drain their bank accounts.

“We are at this turning point where concerns about safety and security are much more palpable to elected officials,” said Brendan Steinhauser, a Texas-based consultant and president at the Alliance for Secure AI, which is pushing for regulations. “I have had a number of meetings with candidates and consultants … and they are all seeing this stuff in the polling.”

Steinhauser, who worked on Sen. John Cornyn’s 2014 campaign, said voters are expressing concerns about how their jobs might be rendered obsolete because of automation and the rise of advanced robotics and “superintelligence,” among other things, and are finding it all “very unsettling.”

“People are seeing that and the politicians reflect public opinion,” he said.

The president, by contrast, recently postponed signing an executive order that would create increased federal oversight of AI and has said he’s worried about the U.S. being outpaced by China when it comes to technological developments. In the West Wing, various factions are trying to get on the same page about regulations, with some concerned they could become too onerous and others worried about the technology’s potential threats to national security.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

Even though Florida’s attempts to pass AI-related legislation stalled, Uthmeier’s lawsuit seeks to hold OpenAI accountable in a way that parallels the stalled legislation by forcing the company to obtain parental consent for data collection from some of its youngest users.

Uthmeier alleged in the filing that OpenAI is committing unfair business practices for “failing to warn of ChatGPT’s dangers” and “designing, offering, and maintaining a dangerous product that provides content unsuitable for children without requiring adequate age verification.” As such, the attorney general is asking a judge to change how OpenAI operates, from barring certain behaviors to demanding damages on behalf of Floridians.

OpenAI did not respond to POLITICO’s request for comment on the lawsuit.

Florida’s civil complaint, which is in addition to an ongoing criminal investigation, is galvanized by allegations that two Florida students used ChatGPT to commit gruesome crimes.

For one, a suspected gunman behind the 2025 shooting at Florida State University allegedly communicated frequently with a ChatGPT bot about a campus attack, asking for detailed information about operating guns and ammo, how the country might react and where he could find the most students. The 20-year old student, Phoenix Ikner, is accused of killing two people at FSU and wounding six others and awaits trial on multiple charges of murder and attempted murder. OpenAI officials maintain “ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime.”

Meanwhile, University of South Florida student Hisham Abugharbieh is accused of using ChatGPT to plot how to dispose of a body in the leadup to the disappearances of two of his classmates. He was later charged with killing them.

Separately, the comprehensive AI legislation proposed by DeSantis earlier this year would have required chatbot platforms to share information with parents, including all interactions their children have with AI. Under this so-called “bill of rights,” parents would have been able to limit the amount of time their children use chatbots and get notifications if children share any thoughts about harming themselves or others.

Although this measure passed the state Senate twice with bipartisan support, the GOP-led House never considered it in a committee hearing, let alone on the floor.

But even with near-unanimous support among Republican state senators, one argued the proposed bill of rights was actually too weak on protecting children.

State Sen. Erin Grall (R-Vero Beach), the lone Republican who voted against the legislation in the Senate, claimed the policies appeared meaningful but would do a “terrible job” regulating technology.

“We have lulled parents into believing that we are actually protecting when we are not,” Grall said during the special session, which ended May 1.

In standing between Florida and AI regulations, Republican House Speaker Daniel Perez during the special session said he spoke with “many” members who disagreed with the bill of rights policy, cementing his decision to skirt the legislation again after already avoiding it once.

At the time, House leaders opted to defer acting on AI so the “federal government can take the lead and get something passed,” as the incoming House speaker, state Rep. Sam Garrison (R-Fleming Island), told reporters. But even reluctant House Republicans left the door open to potential state regulations if Congress fails to act.

“If that doesn’t happen,” Garrison said during the special session, “well then, ultimately, the state’s gotta do what we have to do.”