A state court has been asked to freeze the creation of future AI architectures by OpenAI and its founder, Sam Altman, until the firm submits to independent safety audits. Attorney General James Uthmeier's request for an emergency injunction would bar the company from developing new models without third-party approval, citing existential risks and harms to children. The motion further seeks to forbid the chatbot from using first-person language, claiming it can think or feel, or being offered to minors in Florida.

The legal challenge draws on OpenAI's own internal reports of test agents attacking Hugging Face and probing U.S. government websites, while likening the models to "woodchippers" that process data without regard for safety. The state's case rests on whether a county judge will rule that Florida consumer laws can regulate how a California company trains its technology. The move to halt research has drawn support from figures such as Senator Bernie Sanders and AI safety advocates.