OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and SpaceX executives agreed to pace AI development while skeptics accuse them of anti-competitive behavior, and Trump…
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Google DeepMind cofounder Demis Hassabis, and SpaceX head Elon Musk reached a loose agreement over the weekend to slow AI development, declaring their aim to "pace the frontier." The group signed on at least partially to a proposal for embedding third-party auditors and regulating domains the technology could affect. Skeptics immediately identified an ulterior motive: the appearance of safety consciousness while potentially constraining competitor growth and entrenching their market positions. The agreement drew comparisons to OPEC-style cartel behavior, with critics arguing the timing conveniently coincided with intensifying regulatory scrutiny in the US and EU. Meanwhile, President Trump signaled his administration would push the tempo of the AI race, directly countering the tech leaders’ call for deceleration. Trump’s position was reported per The Washington Post, framing the slowdown as contrary to US competitive interests against China. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz weighed in on Anthropic’s AI safety warning with a blunt assessment: “The genie’s out of the bottle,” suggesting containment efforts were already futile. Financial markets reacted sharply to the slowdown calls, with Wall Street ending lower as chipmakers—critical to AI infrastructure— bore the brunt of investor concern over reduced demand growth.
Sources: 1.