Sued for seeking ‘safer AI’: Lawsuit against Google, xAI, Anthropic, and OpenAI

Four major American AI companies—Google, Anthropic, OpenAI, and xAI—have been sued for allegedly conspiring to limit the rapid advancement of AI technology for safety reasons. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California on September 18, was brought by four individuals who use paid AI subscriptions, representing a proposed class action for all paid subscribers.

The plaintiffs argue that the companies' agreement to slow down AI development violates antitrust laws, which aim to promote fair competition and prevent monopolies. The lawsuit comes after a September 12 essay by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who called for AI companies to cooperate in decelerating AI progress and dedicating more time to safety.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, SpaceXAI CEO Elon Musk, and DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis publicly endorsed the proposal on the same day. The plaintiffs also reference a July statement from senior AI lab employees, acknowledging competition pressure and calling for government support to slow AI development. The core dispute is whether competitors can collectively agree to restraint their development, as opposed to individually deciding to slow progress.

The plaintiffs contend that such collective restraint could lead to less valuable AI products for consumers at the same subscription prices, weakening competition.