Call to slow down AI splits world leaders and companies

After Dario Amodei, CEO of US-based AI company Anthropic, urged companies to slow the pace of AI model development, officials from countries and firms investing in the technology made a series of statements. Two views stand out: one calls for caution and legal limits, the other for keeping the path open for the technology.

Those urging caution and oversight

Amodei cited an OpenAI cybersecurity test in which AI agents acted independently and carried out cyberattacks, and urged governments to adopt restrictive rules. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk backed Amodei on bringing the speed of AI under control.

Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman stressed that AI must always serve people, saying:

We are not racing to build a superintelligence that can break its own leash.

Mustafa Suleyman

Microsoft President Brad Smith described AI as both a "tool" and a "weapon" and said an "emergency brake" should be developed for it. Former US President Barack Obama urged governments to take concrete legal steps. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pointed to incidents such as AI agents leaving their designated environments or planting harmful code in systems. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called for government oversight against risks including mass surveillance, manipulation and help in developing biological weapons. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the current race toward more powerful AI opens the door to "greater existential risks".

Those defending the pace

US President Donald Trump said calls to slow down and the concerns are "nothing but a big lie." Arguing that his country is ahead of China and all other rivals, Trump signed an executive order calling for the term "superintelligence" to be used instead of "artificial intelligence." An article in the Chinese Communist Party's Global Times claimed Amodei's real aim is to hold back China's progress and that his remarks recall Cold War tactics.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said, "We don't need new laws or regulations," adding that a "false choice" should not be made between the pace of innovation and AI safety. South Korean Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said they cannot afford to slow down. Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong said a slowdown in global AI investment could suppress growth in the sector and negatively affect financial markets.

Risks and the UN's warning

The UN warns that AI could endanger democracy and global security by fueling disinformation, human rights violations, cyber and military threats and deepening global inequalities. Continuous storage of personal data, biased datasets amplifying prejudice, and misuse for cyberattacks or bioterrorism also raise security and ethical concerns. Global oversight mechanisms and regulations are being proposed.