Advocacy groups sue to halt new AI models

A coalition of online safety and consumer advocacy groups has asked San Francisco Superior Court to block Anthropic, Google, Meta, OpenAI and SpaceXSI from developing or deploying new AI models. The nonprofits allege the companies cannot prevent potentially catastrophic harm, citing documented cyberattacks involving AI systems and executives’ own warnings about the technology’s risks.

The plaintiffs, Irreplaceable Education Fund, Public Citizen, Heat Initiative and the Alliance for Secure AI, claim the companies violated California’s unfair competition law by endangering public health and interfering with the use of property, including computer systems. They say responding to threats from advancing models has diverted resources from other planned work. Their complaint also warns that increasingly autonomous systems with broadly human-level capabilities could lead to a permanent loss of human control.

The lawsuit comes as Democrats regain control of Congress and emphasize technology regulation. President Donald Trump has favored rapid AI development and industry self-policing, while expressing openness to additional safeguards. Some industry leaders have also supported slowing development so safety measures can catch up. The companies named in the lawsuit did not immediately respond to requests for comment.