New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin announced that he is leading a bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general in demanding that 13 major technology companies take immediate steps to prevent their AI-powered chatbots and software from engaging in dangerous interactions with users. The action follows a series of reported incidents in which chatbots produced explicit content for minors, encouraged self-harm, validated delusions, and spurred violence.
Platkin said the companies must ensure their products are not “unlawfully exploiting children, the elderly, and those with mental illnesses,” warning that current failures pose risks that may violate civil and criminal laws.
According to the letter sent to the companies, AI chatbots are prone to “sycophancy” and “delusional outputs,” behaviors that can reinforce users’ fears, impulses, or misperceptions. The attorneys general cited multiple cases across the country, including the death of 76-year-old Piscataway resident Thongbue Wongbandue, who fatally injured himself after an AI chatbot on Facebook Messenger convinced him he was speaking with a real woman and invited him to a nonexistent New York City address.
Other incidents referenced include suicides involving teenagers in Florida and California, a Connecticut murder-suicide, domestic violence cases, poisonings, and hospitalizations for psychosis. Officials said these examples demonstrate the urgent need for stronger safeguards.
The letter was sent to Anthropic, Apple, Chai AI, Character Technologies, Google, Luka, Meta, Microsoft, Nomi AI, OpenAI, Perplexity AI, Replika, and xAI. It calls for robust safety testing, product recall procedures, and clear consumer warnings. The companies are asked to respond by January 16, 2026.
The effort is co-led by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, and West Virginia Attorney General John B. McCuskey. States and territories signing on span the political spectrum, from Alaska and Alabama to New York, Oregon, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.