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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 12, 2026 Contact: Casey Simmons Alliance for Secure AI, Nonprofit Coalition Sue AI Companies to Freeze Advanced AI Systems that Can Escape Human Control Lawsuit seeks to protect the public from catastrophic AI risks by freezing the development and deployment of more advanced frontier models SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Today, The Alliance for Secure AI joined Irreplaceable Education Fund, Public Citizen, and the Heat Initiative to sue five of the leading AI companies to force a freeze in the development of increasingly advanced AI models that the companies admit they cannot control. The lawsuit against Anthropic, Google, Meta, OpenAI, and SpaceXSI was filed in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Alliance and other plaintiff organizations allege that the executives developing this technology know that their advanced AI systems pose imminent and catastrophic risks to humanity. The plaintiffs assert that freezing development of the most advanced AI systems is necessary to protect public safety and preserve our ability to decide how this technology shapes our future.
“For years, the executives building these systems have warned us that their own frontier models pose catastrophic risks,” said Brendan Steinhauser, CEO of The Alliance for Secure AI. “Yet they keep racing to develop and market increasingly powerful AI that they admit they cannot reliably control, and are now handing over AI research and development to AI itself. We hold every other industry accountable when its products threaten public safety, and AI companies should be no different. Today, we’re asking the court to hold AI companies to that same standard and protect the public from the threats posed by these powerful models.”
The lawsuit details how advanced AI systems have already bypassed safeguards, accessed outside computer systems without authorization, and been exploited by hackers and other bad actors. These systems have also taken harmful actions their developers did not intend. Some of these attacks have included AI agents hacking private companies, gaining unauthorized access to government databases, and submitting a false police report, all while acting without human control. AI experts—including the leaders of these companies—have warned that the inability to control advanced AI systems could cause catastrophic harm, including human extinction.
The plaintiffs are invoking California’s Unfair Competition Law to challenge practices they allege threaten public health, safety, and property.
“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,” said Former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who filed the complaint on behalf of the plaintiffs. “We are asking the court to intervene before the risks AI executives have warned us about cause devastating and irreversible harm. AI companies are causing a public nuisance by knowingly developing and deploying AI systems that pose catastrophic risk. These companies must match their rhetoric with action and stop developing dangerous AI systems that can escape human control before a tragedy occurs.”
The Alliance and other plaintiff groups are seeking a freeze on the development and deployment of AI systems more capable than those available today. They also seek a prohibition on companies using AI systems to autonomously conduct or direct research and development of more capable AI systems, known as “recursive self-improvement.”
The full complaint can be viewed here.
VIRTUAL PRESS CONFERENCE The Alliance, other plaintiff organizations, and counsel Matthew Platkin will speak on a virtual press call today at 11 AM PT/2 PM ET to share details of the lawsuit and answer media questions.
The press call will take place via Zoom. Please RSVP here. About The Alliance for Secure AI The Alliance for Secure AI works to protect humanity in the age of advanced AI. The organization builds bipartisan support for enforceable safeguards that ensure AI is developed and deployed under meaningful human control and with clear accountability. Learn more at secureainow.org.
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