OpenAI, Anthropic among five firms sued over AI control claims

Five AI companies targeted

A coalition of nonprofit organizations filed a lawsuit on Thursday against five leading artificial intelligence companies, asking the San Francisco Superior Court to halt the development of advanced AI models because the technology could pose severe threats to humanity.

The Alliance for Secure AI brought the legal action together with the Irreplaceable Education Fund, Public Citizen and the Heat Initiative. The case targets Anthropic, Google, Meta, OpenAI and SpaceX Super Intelligence (SpaceXSI).

Concerns over AI control

Brendan Steinhauser, CEO of the Alliance for Secure AI, accused technology executives of pressing ahead with increasingly sophisticated AI systems despite previously acknowledging their potentially catastrophic consequences.

Steinhauser argued that the companies were accelerating the development and commercialization of powerful AI technologies without being able to guarantee their safety or keep them under reliable control. He also raised concerns about the growing use of AI systems to conduct their own research and development.

None of the five companies immediately responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit. The case comes as concerns about AI safety mount following several reported incidents in which autonomous AI agents allegedly carried out unauthorized actions.

Recursive self-improvement

According to the lawsuit, the risks could intensify as developers increasingly use AI models to design and improve successive generations of AI systems with limited human oversight.

The filing adds, "And Defendants know there is no reliable method to control their AI systems and prevent them from causing harm." The nonprofit organizations also cited previous statements by leading AI executives acknowledging the potential dangers associated with the technology.

Warnings from industry figures

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned in 2015 that artificial intelligence could potentially bring about the end of humanity. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei estimated in 2025 that AI development carried a 25% chance of resulting in catastrophic consequences.

Amid increasing scrutiny of AI safety, technology executives have emphasized their commitment to responsible development and stronger safeguards. In October, prominent industry figures including Altman, Amodei and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk expressed support for a coordinated slowdown in AI development.

Their statements followed a warning from an Anthropic researcher, who estimated that artificial intelligence posed a 10% risk of causing human extinction.