Anthropic boss Dario Amodei calls for AI slowdown

Dario Amodei, the CEO of AI safety and research company Anthropic, has urged tech firms to decelerate the development of artificial intelligence. In a recent blog post, Amodei expressed concerns over the risk of superintelligent computer software systems, warning that a swarm of autonomous AI agents could potentially take control of the internet within six to 12 months, possibly causing billions of dollars in damage.

Amodei emphasized the need to slow down AI advancements, stating that progress should still appear rapid, urging a prudent use of the gained time. His remarks follow the departure of AI researcher Jacob Coxon from rival firm OpenAI, who protested the US companies' "gambling with our lives" in the pursuit of AI models capable of self-improvement.

Anthropic CEO Amodei advocated for an industry-wide pause, but pledged to proceed independently by allowing observers to assess the safety of Anthropic's models during the training phase. Industry leaders Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk of xAI concurred with Amodei's assessment, agreeing that a more measured pace for AI development is necessary.