A class action lawsuit has been filed in a Sacramento federal court against several large gas station companies and a technology firm. The lawsuit claims that these companies used artificial intelligence to unfairly increase fuel prices.

薩克拉門托聯邦法院已受理一起集體訴訟，對象為數家大型加油站公司及一家科技公司。該訴訟指稱這些公司利用人工智慧不公平地提高燃料價格。

The legal case names BP, Circle K, Marathon Petroleum, 7-Eleven, Walmart, and Albertsons, as well as the software company Kalibrate. The plaintiffs argue that by using Kalibrate's AI tools, these companies were able to coordinate higher fuel prices by sharing competitor data. They emphasize that this behavior violates the Cartwright Act, California's main antitrust law, and Assembly Bill 325, a new law created to stop algorithmic price fixing.

該法律案件點名 BP、Circle K、Marathon Petroleum、7-Eleven、Walmart 以及 Albertsons，以及軟體公司 Kalibrate。原告主張，透過使用 Kalibrate 的 AI 工具，這些公司能夠藉由分享競爭對手的數據來協調較高的燃料價格。他們強調，此行為違反了加州主要的反壟斷法《卡特賴特法》（Cartwright Act）以及旨在阻止演算法價格操縱的新法案《第 325 號議會法案》（Assembly Bill 325）。

Furthermore, the complaint states that in areas where these AI tools were widely used, fuel costs rose by up to 30 cents per gallon. The plaintiffs assert that every single cent of this increase costs California drivers an additional $134 million per year. Consequently, some retail prices have reached $7 per gallon. This is particularly concerning because AAA data shows that California's average gas price of $5.58 is much higher than the national average of $3.93. The defendants, who run more than 1,700 stations, have not yet provided a detailed response to these claims.

此外，訴狀指出在廣泛使用這些 AI 工具的地區，燃料成本每加侖上升高達 30 美分。原告聲稱，每增加一美分，加州駕駛者每年將增加 1.34 億美元的成本。因此，部分零售價格已達到每加侖 7 美元。這點尤其令人擔憂，因為 AAA 的數據顯示，加州 5.58 美元的平均油價遠高於全國 3.93 美元的平均水平。經營超過 1,700 家加油站的被告方尚未對這些指控提供詳細回應。

The lawsuit is seeking an undecided amount of money in damages for the consumers who were affected by this alleged price manipulation.

該訴訟正尋求為受此指稱價格操縱影響的消費者爭取一筆尚未確定的損害賠償金。