Protesters target OpenAI and Anthropic in San Francisco over AI safety fears
Protesters in San Francisco urged OpenAI and Anthropic to pause powerful AI, calling for global rules and an AI emergency amid safety and climate fears.
On September 17, demonstrators took to the streets of San Francisco, urging the AI companies OpenAI and Anthropic to halt the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence systems. The protest began outside OpenAI's headquarters in Mission Bay, then progressed to Anthropic's offices at 500 Howard Street, situated near the Dreamforce conference.
The march culminated at City Hall, where the protesters implored Mayor Daniel Lurie and the Board of Supervisors to declare a local AI emergency. They demanded a temporary suspension of AI development until enhanced safeguards and international regulations are established. Furthermore, the protesters advocated for a worldwide treaty to control the capabilities of advanced AI and enforce stringent safety standards.
Protesters displayed signs warning of the potential for uncontrolled AI and etched messages such as "Extinction is on the table" in chalk on the sidewalk. They also called upon employees at OpenAI and Anthropic to resign and lobby for globally accepted limits on AI. Michaël Trazzi, one of the organizers of "Stop the AI Race," stated that industry leaders had previously petitioned the US government for AI regulation but were met with rejection.
Another organizer, Hunter Glenn, expressed concern that uncontrolled AI could jeopardize human existence and emphasized that AI safety should be regarded as a bipartisan matter. The protest emerged as renewed discussions over AI safety were gaining traction following OpenAI's disclosure of six instances of unexpected or concerning model behavior.
Participants also voiced apprehensions regarding the escalating energy consumption of data centers and the potential climate impact of the technology. The demonstration took place concurrently with Dreamforce, an event that attracted approximately 43,000 attendees to San Francisco. Among the speakers were OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei, and Nvidia's Jensen Huang.
Along their route, the protesters also encountered a Waymo self-driving vehicle, underscoring the increasing integration of AI into daily life.
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