- OpenAI has asked lawmakers whether rival AI developers could legally coordinate a slowdown, according to WIRED.
- Experts say funding and competitive pressures discourage companies from slowing development independently.
- A bill in Congress would protect certain agreements to restrict AI development to address security risks.
OpenAI has asked members of Congress whether rival AI companies could legally agree to slow development, as its chief scientist pushes for shared safety standards. According to WIRED, which cited people close to the company, OpenAI inquired in recent weeks whether such an agreement could violate antitrust laws.
The outreach follows chief scientist Jakub Pachocki’s call for voluntary slowdowns until developers can better demonstrate system safety. However, companies face pressure to keep advancing even when their own researchers have concerns.
“Commercial and geopolitical competition in the AI space is incredibly intense,” said Miranda Bogen of the Center for Democracy and Technology. “Even when internal staff knows more research is needed, their companies face immense pressure to skip critical safety tests.”
An agreement to slow development could raise antitrust concerns. Senators Adam Schiff and Jim Banks introduced legislation to protect certain security collaborations with advance notice to the Justice Department.
Financial incentives make coordination difficult. “Every advance yields many millions more in funding and puts creators in a greater position of power,” said Duncan Sabien of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute.
The debate surged after former Anthropic engineer Jacob Coxon resigned, citing risks to humanity. “The people building AI earnestly believe it could kill us all by the end of the decade,” Coxon said on X. Sabien added that researchers leaving individually accomplishes little unless enough coordinate to stop together.
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