Factbox-How AI leaders and world governments react to ’AI doom’ fears

On Sept 15, AI leaders and world governments responded to concerns over the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and the potential for "AI doom." Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a slowdown in AI development, gaining support from Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Amodei proposed a three-step plan, including stronger safety testing, independent evaluations of advanced AI models, and international cooperation to address the risks associated with AI's rapid growth.

Musk, a prominent figure in the AI community, echoed Amodei's concerns, having previously advocated for a six-month halt to AI development for safety evaluations. Altman, too, backed Amodei's proposal, stating that OpenAI would adopt the idea by incorporating independent evaluators with employee-like access. Bill Gates, a prominent philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft, expressed optimism about AI's potential in healthcare but warned about threats to jobs, attacks, and addiction to AI companions, calling for an international organization to manage the technology.

Google DeepMind's former CEO, Demis Hassabis, praised Amodei's approach and emphasized the need for further discussion on the details. Tech entrepreneur Andrew Karpathy, now at Anthropic, shared Amodei's essay on X, expressing hope for industry-wide collaboration to implement the proposed measures. However, not all responses were supportive; some feared that such measures could stifle AI development and harm China's technological progress.

The European Union, while supportive of AI innovation, stressed the importance of ensuring AI services are safe for citizens and emphasized the need for Europe to develop its own AI technology to maintain autonomy.