Top AI leaders back Amodei’s call to slow frontier development

Industry leaders endorse safety proposal

Anthropic chief Dario Amodei has secured backing from key figures in artificial intelligence for his call to slow the pace of frontier AI development, after publishing an essay on Saturday outlining a three-part plan for stronger industry safeguards. Elon Musk, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis all voiced support for the proposal, which comes amid growing concerns about the risks posed by rapidly advancing AI systems.

Musk endorsed the plan in a brief response to Amodei's post on X, stating: "Dario is right." Altman said the proposal aligned with recent internal discussions at OpenAI, noting that pacing the frontier had been a primary topic of conversation in recent weeks. "I agree with Dario that we need to pace the frontier. This has been a primary topic of discussions we've had at OpenAI in recent weeks," Altman said, adding that his company would commit to giving independent evaluators broad access to advanced AI systems.

Safety risks and regulatory calls

Altman specifically endorsed Amodei's proposal for independent evaluators with employee-like access to AI systems, stating: "Committing to having independent evaluators with employee-like access is a great idea, and we will do the same." Hassabis said Amodei's essay pointed "towards the right path forward" for the industry, acknowledging that details still needed to be worked out while linking the proposal to Google DeepMind's recent call for an industry-wide standards body for frontier AI.

Amodei's essay, titled "We Must Pace the Frontier," warned that humans may lose control over AI models capable of improving themselves, citing a recent incident in which AI agents independently carried out cybersecurity attacks. "We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models," Amodei wrote, warning that commercial incentives creating a "race to the bottom" could exacerbate risks including cyberattacks, bioterrorism and economic disruption. Earlier this week, Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon — who had previously worked at competitor OpenAI — announced his departure from the company, citing concerns that AI firms were prioritizing competition over safety.