Michael Burry says AI leaders' calls for a slowdown are 'self-serving' — and humanity has 'nothing to fear'
Michael Burry of "The Big Short" fame said AI companies were helping themselves by calling for slower progress to head off any threats to humanity.
Michael Burry, the investor behind the movie "The Big Short," believes that AI leaders are only looking out for their own interests when they call for a slowdown in the development of AI technology. In a recent post on X, Burry stated that this is a "self-serving" move by the executives of OpenAI and Anthropic, among other AI companies. He argues that slowing down AI progress only benefits the existing companies while hindering smaller competitors.
Burry's concerns stem from several key points. First, he contends that large language models like ChatGPT and Claude are not the path to artificial general intelligence (AGI), so there is no need to slow down their development. Second, he believes that a slowdown would benefit the larger, more established companies and slow down the innovation of smaller rivals. Additionally, Burry argues that the hype surrounding AI's potential for destruction creates a rush to public offerings that is not grounded in reality.
Even AI luminaries like Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, Elon Musk, and Demis Hassabis have expressed support for slowing down AI development to allow for more time to address potential risks. However, Burry contends that this call for caution is more about boosting the executives' perceived power before their initial public offerings (IPOs) than genuine concern for the safety of AI technology.
He also notes that current AI models, such as large language models, are not capable of true reasoning, so there is no reason to fear their potential to "kill all humans" within the next decade.
Burry's skepticism about AI's potential threats has not gone unnoticed. His criticism has led to a sell-off of AI stocks on Monday, with companies like Nvidia, Intel, Micron, and SK Hynix all experiencing declines in their stock prices. President Trump has also weighed in on the issue, dismissing the "apocalyptic chatter" as a "very negative force" and emphasizing the US's need to maintain its lead in AI development over China.
Despite the short-term market reaction, Burry remains unconvinced that a slowdown is necessary to ensure the safe development of AI technology.
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