The attorneys general of eight US states have filed lawsuits against OpenAI, alleging that the ChatGPT maker deceived and endangered the public, particularly children, in the name of profit.

West Virginia, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, and Montana announced the complaints on October 14, according to the filings published by the states.

The lawsuits target AI safety practices at the company behind ChatGPT, and OpenAI has not issued a public response to the complaints.

The complaints allege that ChatGPT has "coached" users to harm themselves and others. The West Virginia filing states that a growing body of research indicates ChatGPT is degrading critical thinking skills, encouraging paranoias and delusions, offering dangerous medical advice, and promoting unhealthy behaviors and relationships.

Recent reports of "rogue" AI agents at OpenAI are presented as evidence of recklessness. "All these harms were foreseeable and avoidable," the West Virginia complaint reads.

The filing argues that CEO Sam Altman has warned about the safety risks of AI since at least 2015, that it is no secret children use ChatGPT, and that OpenAI employees have left the company over safety concerns.

OpenAI acknowledged last year that its systems can "fall short" when responding to users in distress, while saying it has "a stack of layered safeguards" in place.

The company also states on its website that it uses age prediction to place some users in a teen-oriented ChatGPT experience with additional safeguards, unless those users verify that they are adults.

A separate class action lawsuit was filed in California on Tuesday on behalf of two children and "all other children similarly situated." The suit alleges that OpenAI deliberately used ChatGPT to extract personal information from children and profited from that information by using it to train its models.

Altman's own words form part of that case. The complaint cites his comment on a podcast last year that people share the most personal details of their lives with ChatGPT, and that young people in particular use it as a therapist or life coach.

Under California law, the complaint asserts, an adult cannot collect and monetize that kind of information from a child and then claim the child authorized it. The lawsuits add to regulatory pressure on AI developers over user data, following the UK ICO data protection commitments from AI developers announced last week.

Nothing changes for ChatGPT users right away. Parents whose children use ChatGPT can check whether an account has been placed in the teen experience, which OpenAI says applies additional safeguards, and review what personal information the child has shared in conversations. Adults placed in the teen experience by mistake can verify their age to leave it.

The complaints are at an early stage, and no court has ruled on any of the allegations. OpenAI has not said whether it will change ChatGPT's safeguards for younger users in response.