AI Giants Sued Over Alleged Pact to Slow Development
Four AI companies face a new antitrust lawsuit accusing them of illegally agreeing to slow AI development, allegedly shortchanging paying subscribers. The suit names Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI, and Google DeepMind. The lawsuit, filed in California, claims CEOs coordinated a slowdown under safety guise, which plaintiffs argue amounts to price-fixing. It cites a September 12 essay by Anthropic's CEO and public agreements from rivals that day, plus earlier signals of coordination Plaintiffs, paying subscribers to services like ChatGPT and Claude, seek class-action status. They don't oppose individual safety decisions but argue collective restraint violates antitrust law. The suit follows industry calls for government-mediated safety talks, though President Trump has rejected regulation, favoring faster AI development against China