Archive · 14 Sep 2026
AI Leaders Urge Slower Development as Trump Dismisses Risk Warnings
Some AI leaders are worried that artificial intelligence is improving too quickly.
Dario Amodei of Anthropic asked companies to slow down the development of the most powerful AI systems.
He said AI systems could cause serious harm if they become more capable without strong safety rules.
Sam Altman of OpenAI agreed with this idea and said OpenAI plans to use independent safety evaluators.
Elon Musk also supported Amodei’s statement.
Amodei proposed better testing, cooperation between AI companies and more international cooperation.
President Donald Trump disagreed with the warnings and said they were exaggerated.
The argument is happening while the United States and China compete to lead in technology.
It also comes as Anthropic considers a possible stock-market listing and OpenAI has delayed its own listing plans.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for slowing advanced AI development and stronger safety measures.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceXAI’s Elon Musk publicly backed Amodei’s call to pace AI progress.
Amodei cited an AI cybersecurity “swarm” incident as evidence of possible catastrophic damage without safeguards.
Amodei proposed stronger testing, independent evaluations, coordination among AI companies and international cooperation.
President Donald Trump called AI risk warnings exaggerated as the United States competes with China for technological leadership.
- Who
- Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, SpaceXAI’s Elon Musk and President Donald Trump are the main figures discussed.
- What
- AI leaders debated whether advanced AI development should be slowed and subject to stronger safety checks.
- When
- The report was published on Sept. 14; Amodei said AI progress had accelerated since summer 2026, and Anthropic raised its risk assessment last month.
- Where
- The debate was conducted publicly, including through posts on X; the broader competition involves the United States and China.
- Why
- Amodei and his supporters cited the possibility of catastrophic harm without safeguards, while Trump emphasized the need to maintain U.S. technological leadership and called the warnings exaggerated.
Slower, Safer AI Development
Faster Development and U.S. Leadership
Pacing AI progress
Slower, Safer AI Development
Dario Amodei, Sam Altman and Elon Musk support slowing or pacing advanced AI development so safety measures can catch up.
Faster Development and U.S. Leadership
President Donald Trump dismissed the risk warnings as exaggerated, in the context of the U.S. effort to maintain technological leadership over China.
Risk assessment
Slower, Safer AI Development
Amodei warned that increasingly capable AI could cause catastrophic damage without guardrails and cited an AI cybersecurity incident as evidence of the danger.
Faster Development and U.S. Leadership
Trump’s position, as reported, is that the warnings overstate AI’s potential risks.
Oversight
Slower, Safer AI Development
Amodei called for stronger testing, independent evaluations, cooperation among leading AI companies and greater international cooperation.
Faster Development and U.S. Leadership
The article does not identify a specific alternative oversight plan from Trump, but presents his stance alongside the priority of competing technologically with China.
- Main proposal
- Amodei called for pacing frontier AI development.
- Safety measures
- The proposed plan includes stronger testing, independent evaluations, industry coordination and international cooperation.
- OpenAI response
- Sam Altman said OpenAI intends to adopt independent evaluators with employee-like access.
- Cited incident
- Amodei pointed to an OpenAI-Hugging Face AI “swarm” cybersecurity incident.
- Trump’s position
- President Donald Trump dismissed warnings about AI risks as exaggerated.
- Anthropic risk assessment
- Anthropic raised its AI risk assessment from “very low” to “low” last month.
- Business context
- Anthropic is preparing for a potential IPO, while OpenAI pushed back its own listing plans.