Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, SpaceXAI sued over AI slowdown deal

Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and SpaceXAI are being sued for allegedly entering into an illegal agreement to deliberately slow down their respective AI development. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Friday, the lawsuit claims the tech companies breached antitrust laws by coordinating their efforts to curb advancements.

The plaintiffs, who are paid subscribers to ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and Gemini, argue that slowing AI progress would diminish the value they receive from their subscriptions. According to the plaintiffs' attorneys, representing a proposed nationwide class of other subscribers, antitrust laws "do not allow competitors to collectively decide that competition is too dangerous."

Tech leaders Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Demis Hassabis reportedly supported the ideas presented in Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's essay, "We Must Pace the Frontier." However, despite growing concern and warnings about AI's potential threats to humanity, President Donald Trump opposes calls to slow AI development, emphasizing the race with China.

On Saturday, Trump announced his intention to form an "AI Force," stating his administration will not hinder AI growth. Trump claimed AI represents the next Industrial Revolution, or Internet, with even greater impact. Despite these assurances, Trump also dismissed fears surrounding AI, asserting the government will protect the industry through existing Criminal and Civil Justice Systems.