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Is Big Tech’s AI slowdown a safety pact or a cartel?

AnnouncementPolicySep 14, 2026

OpenAI's Sam Altman, Anthropic's Dario Amodei, Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis, and SpaceX's Elon Musk verbally agreed to slow AI development, backing a proposal to "pace the frontier" with third-party auditors and a global slowdown. Critics call it a cartel aimed at blocking competitors and open-source work. Experts including New York University's Nick Reese say the pledge is a step forward but needs enforcement, warning of safety-washing absent real regulation.

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Citation chain · 1 source

OpenAICompanyGoogle DeepMindCompanyAnthropicCompanySam AltmanPersonSpaceXCompanyElon MuskPersonDario AmodeiPersonDemis HassabisPersonNew York UniversityCompanyNick ReesePerson
Canonical: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/995186/is-big-techs-ai-slowdown-a-safety-pact-or-a-cartel