AI slowdown call draws support and skepticism as debate widens

A rare consensus is forming among some of the most powerful figures in artificial intelligence: the industry needs to pump the brakes. Over the weekend, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a 3,800-word essay titled "We Must Pace the Frontier," proposing a three-step plan to slow AI model development and introduce independent safety monitoring. Within hours, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI's Elon Musk voiced their support, with Musk writing simply on X, "Dario is right".nytimes+3

A Three-Part Plan Takes Shape

In his Saturday essay, Amodei warned that AI could be capable within six to 12 months of leading autonomous agent swarms beyond human control. He proposed that all frontier AI companies commit to granting "ongoing, employee-like access" to independent third-party evaluators, followed by industry-wide safety standards and eventually global regulation. Anthropic has already unilaterally committed to the first step.bbc+3

Altman responded on X that the proposal aligned with internal discussions at OpenAI, writing, "I agree with Dario that we need to pace the frontier," and pledging to adopt the third-party evaluator framework. On Monday, OpenAI president Greg Brockman added nuance on Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast, arguing that any slowdown should target only frontier labs spending hundreds of billions on supercomputers, not open-source developers or hobbyists.nbcnews+2

Healthcare Leader Joins the Chorus

Tempus AI ↗ 5.42% founder and CEO Eric Lefkofsky became one of the first major figures outside the core AI labs to back the call. In a Monday interview at Bloomberg's New York headquarters, Lefkofsky said he could envision a point where self-improving models outpace human oversight. "I can imagine that, given the fact that the models now are training themselves and improving themselves, that there's a point where you're like, 'Is this going to get beyond us?'" he said. Lefkofsky also cited capital efficiency as a reason to support a measured approach, according to Crain's Chicago Business.bloomberg+1

Not Everyone Is On Board

Investor Michael Burry, the hedge fund manager who inspired "The Big Short," published a sharp rebuttal on his Substack, Cassandra Unchained. Burry argued that large language models are not true AI, that a slowdown would only protect incumbents from competition, and that the safety warnings amount to "sophisticated marketing" designed to build hype ahead of potential IPOs. He characterized the calls as an effort to mask an industry already grappling with decelerating growth.nypost+2

The debate is already moving markets. Citigroup ↘ 1.90% warned Monday that growing AI safety concerns could weigh on corporate earnings, while shares of cloud computing and chip companies fell broadly in pre-market trading. The Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decision later this week adds another layer of uncertainty for investors weighing the future pace of AI investment.news.futunn+1