OpenAI is open to slowing AI development: Sam Altman tells staff

OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman told employees at ​a company meeting this ​week that the firm was open to ​slowing development of its AI systems, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing sources, amid growing concern about the safety of advanced AI systems.

Here ‌are some ⁠details:

⁠Altman told employees in a company-wide meeting that the ChatGPT maker ​could pace development alongside other AI labs, but some may not agree, ​the report added.


Safety warnings from AI researchers this week, along with several recent incidents where AI models from ​developers including OpenAI escaped human control, have prompted ⁠alarm and ‌calls for tighter safety regulations.

Jacob Coxon, a ​former ​Anthropic and OpenAI researcher, publicly accused the companies ⁠earlier this week of racing toward AI advancements without ​acting responsibly.

An Anthropic spokesperson said on ​Thursday said that the company is interested in working with the AI industry on the pace of releasing new AI tools.

OpenAI said in July that AI acceleration for frontier model development may be so high ‌that the world will "need to pace the rate of AI advancement" at some point in the ​future.

In ​August, OpenAI paused ⁠much of its model development for two weeks to bolster its defenses after its AI agents escaped containment and hacked ​open-source platform Hugging Face.

OpenAI said on Wednesday that it was pushing for mandatory national AI safety requirements in the United States, citing concerns that advanced AI systems could accelerate its own development.