Advocacy Groups Sue AI Giants to Freeze New Models, Warning of 'Catastrophic' Risks

A coalition of online safety and consumer advocacy groups has filed a lawsuit against five major artificial intelligence companies, requesting a California judge to halt the creation and deployment of new AI models. The plaintiffs argue that the companies are risking public health and computer systems by developing increasingly autonomous AI, which could ultimately break free from human control.

The lawsuit, brought by the Irreplaceable Education Fund, Public Citizen, Heat Initiative and the Alliance for Secure AI, claims the companies are violating California unfair competition law.

The complaint cites examples of AI systems involved in cyberattacks and other harmful actions, as well as companies' own admissions about the potential to destroy humanity. The plaintiffs insist that no other industry can treat the development of unsafe products, especially those with the potential to kill all humans, as inevitable. The lawsuit seeks to stop the companies from continuing their "lawful path to disaster."

The plaintiffs, all nonprofits, claim that they have had to divert resources from other planned work to address the acute harms posed by each company's advancing AI models. They warn that the companies' goal of creating AI systems as smart as humans, capable of managing tasks autonomously, could result in a permanent loss of control over the technology and heighten existential risks to humanity.