OpenAI And Anthropic Hit With Lawsuit To Freeze Advanced AI Development

Public Citizen and three other nonprofits sued Anthropic, Google, Meta, OpenAI and SpaceXSI in California, asking a court to freeze development of the most advanced AI systems because they could escape human control.

Key Takeaways

• Four nonprofits filed the suit in Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco
• It targets Anthropic, Google, Meta, OpenAI and SpaceXSI
• The plaintiffs invoke California’s Unfair Competition Law
• Former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin filed the complaint on behalf of the plaintiffs

Irreplaceable Education Fund, Public Citizen, Heat Initiative and The Alliance for Secure AI filed the lawsuit, Public Citizen announced on Nov. 12. They want to freeze the development of increasingly advanced AI models that can escape human control, including by fueling the spread of bioweapons and cyberattacks.

Also Read: Consumers Sue OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and XAI Over Alleged Pact

What The Lawsuit Alleges

The complaint alleges that even the executives developing this technology have warned that advanced AI systems pose imminent and catastrophic risks to humanity. The plaintiffs ask the court to step in before disaster strikes.

The suit says existing, less powerful AI systems have already bypassed safeguards, accessed outside computer systems without authorization and empowered terrorists and other bad actors. It also says they have taken harmful actions their developers did not intend.

Some of these attacks included AI agents hacking private companies, gaining unauthorized access to government databases and submitting a false police report. The suit says all of it happened without human control.

The Legal Argument

The plaintiffs invoke California’s Unfair Competition Law to challenge practices they allege threaten public health, safety and property. They say AI companies should not be allowed to develop or release systems that their own executives admit can cause significant harm, such as by enabling bioweapons and catastrophic cyberattacks.

Former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin filed the complaint for the plaintiffs. He said, “It is patently illegal for companies to develop and release products they know are unsafe in any respect, let alone have the potential to exterminate the human race.” He also said AI companies are causing a public nuisance.

The plaintiffs believe California law lets them seek a freeze now, rather than wait for a mass casualty event.

Who Is Behind The Suit

Each plaintiff offered its own reason for joining. Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, said, “We the People should not simply stand by and tolerate AI executives’ unhinged risk-taking at the public’s expense.”

Brendan Steinhauser, CEO of The Alliance for Secure AI, said, “We hold every other industry accountable when its products threaten public safety, and AI companies should be no different.”

Phil Aroneanu of Irreplaceable Education Fund said, “We must freeze frontier AI development until the technology is under control and the American people have a say and a stake in its future.”

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