SoftBank shares plunge as calls grow to slow AI development
AI development should slow down, leading developers have warned, as the industry faces growing calls to put safety ahead of profits. The comments weighed heavily on technology shares on Monday.
Shares in Japanese investment conglomerate SoftBank Group, a major investor in OpenAI, plummeted over 10% on Monday, joining the decline of other technology shares. This drop came after executives at leading AI companies called for a cautious approach to AI development, prioritizing prudence over profit. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei urged AI companies to "pace the frontier" through a slowdown in creating advanced models, warning that uncontrolled recursive self-improvement could surpass human control.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI CEO Elon Musk echoed his concerns, with Musk agreeing that Amodei was right. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that OpenAI would postpone its initial public offering until safety became the top priority. Anthropic, another privately-held AI company, is reportedly preparing for a possible stock market listing.
Anthropic's researchers have expressed growing concerns, with some believing the risk of AI causing human extinction could be over 10% within a decade. US President Donald Trump dismissed the warnings as negative forces, while House Speaker Mike Johnson urged against panic. Despite these developments, investors sold technology shares on Monday.
Other Asian AI-related companies also experienced declines, with SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, Tokyo Electron, and Kioxia Holdings all experiencing losses. Amodei had urged stricter controls on China's access to advanced AI chips, citing the technology's crucial role in the country's AI capabilities. However, he admitted that China might not participate in a coordinated slowdown, leading to accusations of an "AI Cold War" from China's state-controlled media.
In response, China's leader, President Xi Jinping, proposed a BRICS open-source AI zone to foster international cooperation on AI models and training.
Written by urgent.news from Euronews Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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