Anthropic boss calls for slowing pace of AI development

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has urged artificial intelligence companies to decelerate the development of powerful AI technology. This call for slower progress emerged amid growing concerns over the potential risks posed by superintelligent computer systems. Amodei's remarks followed the departure of AI researcher Jacob Coxon, who left OpenAI to join Anthropic, expressing his belief that both US companies were recklessly gambling with humanity's future in their pursuit of self-improving AI models.

Amodei wrote that while progress may still appear rapid, it is crucial to exercise caution and make wise use of the time gained. He emphasized that the risks associated with AI are serious and underscored the need to strike a balance between the benefits of the technology and the potential dangers. Earlier this year, Anthropic had proposed slowing or halting development, and in late July, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman suggested developers might need to voluntarily slow their advancements to allow society to catch up.

Over 1,000 employees from leading AI companies recently signed a petition urging the US government to help regulate the pace of AI development. Coxon, who worked on AI model pretraining at both OpenAI and Anthropic, warned that neither company is acting responsibly by racing towards self-improving superintelligence, posing a grave threat to humanity.