Anthropic's call for AI development slowdown
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay, "We Must Pace the Frontier," on September 12 calling for AI companies to voluntarily slow the pace of capability advances to give safety research time to keep up, warning that without a slowdown, AI could within six to 12 months be capable of directing swarms of agents that could "take over the entire internet." He proposed independent, embedded evaluators with ongoing access to frontier AI labs, industry-wide safety standards, and continued US restrictions on advanced AI chip sales to China. OpenAI's Sam Altman and Elon Musk quickly voiced agreement, and OpenAI said it would commit to embedding outside evaluators; Altman also said OpenAI would delay its stock market debut until at least 2027 to focus on safety. The essay followed the high-profile resignations of two Anthropic safety researchers, Jacob Coxon and Joe Benton, who said AI firms were "gambling with our lives" in a race toward self-improving superintelligence.
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As it ran
14 September 2026
13 September 2026
- What Anthropic’s C.E.O. Argued in His Call for Slower A.I. Development New York Times
- Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei says AI industry needs to give safety measures time to catch up AP
12 September 2026
- Anthropic CEO calls for ‘pacing the frontier’ of AI race amid safety concerns CNN
- Anthropic CEO says race to develop AI is in need of a slowdown CNN
- Anthropic C.E.O. Calls for A.I. Slowdown New York Times
- Anthropic boss calls for AI slowdown amid superintelligence fears South China Morning Post
- Anthropic boss Dario Amodei calls for AI development to slow down BBC News
- Top A.I. Leaders Call for Slowing Down A.I. Development New York Times
- Top A.I. Leaders Call for Slower Development as Fears Mount Over Risks New York Times
- Dramatic insider warnings over AI fall flat with some in Silicon Valley BBC News
- Pause AI for Humanity’s Sake Wall Street Journal