AI Leaders Urge Slowdown; Trump Team Says Do It Yourselves

The debate over AI safety has moved from hypothetical risks to concrete proposals. Dario Amodei's essay, published Saturday, asked Washington to regulate AI companies and allow them to coordinate on standards without running afoul of antitrust law. That request drew support from OpenAI's Sam Altman and Elon Musk, a rare alignment between rival lab leaders. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also called for pacing development.

But the political response was swift and dismissive. David Sacks, co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, rejected the idea that labs need government permission to slow down, and questioned whether altruism was the real motive. House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that emergency regulation would cede the AI race to China, a concern President Trump echoed by saying he wants to keep the US lead. The administration's priority is clear: not to slow down.

In response, labs are attempting voluntary measures to rebuild public trust. Altman's commitment to third-party evaluators with employee-level access, despite "significant costs," suggests an effort to show responsibility without formal regulation. Whether these steps will be enough to address safety concerns—or whether they will be seen as inadequate—remains to be seen.