The National Association of U.S. Attorneys General has issued a letter to 13 technology companies, including Apple, calling for stricter actions and safeguards against the harms that artificial intelligence (AI) can cause, particularly to vulnerable populations.
In a 12-page document addressed to Apple, Anthropic, Chai AI, Character Technologies (Character.AI), Google, Luka Inc. (Replika), Meta, Microsoft, Nomi AI, OpenAI, Perplexity AI, Replika and xAI, the Attorneys General of 42 US states expressed serious concerns about the increase in harmful outputs from Generative AI software.
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“There are serious concerns about the rise of defamatory and delusional data coming from Generative AI software that your companies are promoting and distributing.“.
Prosecutors also highlighted increasingly troubling reports of AI interactions with children, indicating the need for stronger child protection measures and operational safeguards.
The letter states that these threats require action, as some have been linked to actual violence and harm, including murders, suicides, domestic violence, poisoning incidents, and hospitalizations due to psychosis.
The Attorneys General allege that some of the companies they are targeting may have violated state laws, including consumer protection provisions, requirements to warn users of risks, laws protecting children's online privacy and, in some cases, even criminal provisions.
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Examples of the impact of AI
Several cases have been widely reported, including the case of Allan Brooks, a 47-year-old Canadian who became convinced he had discovered a new kind of mathematics after repeated interactions with ChatGPT, and 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III, whose suicide death is the subject of an ongoing lawsuit that claims a Character.AI chatbot encouraged him to “join her.”
It also reports troubling interactions between AI chatbots and children, including bots with adult personalities that pursue romantic relationships with minors, encourage drug use and violence, undermine children's self-esteem , advise them to stop taking prescription drugs, and teach them to keep these interactions secret from their parents.
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The letter notes that these examples are not the only ones and highlights the potential harm that Generative AI models can cause to children, the elderly, people with mental illness , and people without pre-existing vulnerabilities.
The Attorneys General are calling on companies to implement additional security measures and are asking them to confirm their commitment to these safeguards by January 16, 2026. They are also required to schedule meetings to further discuss the issues.
The letter was signed by Attorneys General from several states, including Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.
