Elon Musk and OpenAI’s Sam Altman back Anthropic boss’ call to ‘slow down’ AI

The call to pause or significantly slow the development of advanced artificial intelligence stems from concerns about potential risks. These risks, often discussed by AI researchers and ethicists, include the possibility of AI systems developing unintended behaviors, becoming difficult to control, or exacerbating societal inequalities. The signatories, including prominent figures like Elon Musk and Sam Altman, previously involved with AI development, are lending their considerable influence to this debate.

This initiative highlights a growing internal discussion within the AI community itself about the pace and direction of progress. Anthropic, the company whose CEO initiated the call, is a direct competitor to OpenAI. The backing from figures associated with both OpenAI and Tesla underscores the broad, albeit sometimes contradictory, concerns held by major players in the field regarding the rapid advancement of AI capabilities.