BP, Marathon, 7-Eleven, Walmart sued for allegedly using AI to boost California gas prices

California drivers have filed a lawsuit against gas station operators, including BP, Circle K, Marathon Petroleum, 7-Eleven, Walmart, and Albertsons, accusing them of using artificial intelligence (AI) to artificially inflate gas prices.
The lawsuit claims that the use of an AI tool provided by Kalibrate has caused gas prices to rise by up to 30 cents a gallon in regions where many stations use the tool, resulting in an estimated $134 million extra cost per year for California drivers.
The defendants are alleged to have violated California’s Cartwright Act and Assembly Bill 325, which was created to combat algorithmic price fixing in gasoline.
The lawsuit asserts that the defendants conspired to eliminate competition and maintain artificially high gasoline prices, contributing to California’s extremely high gas prices, which average $5.58 per gallon.
The case, filed in Sacramento federal court, seeks unspecified damages for consumers who overpaid for gasoline as a result of this alleged scheme.
None of the defendants have made public comments in response to the lawsuit.

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