AI Tech / news
AI leaders split on slowing down as Anthropic and Nvidia chiefs clash over safety
A public rift has opened over whether the AI industry genuinely intends to slow development for safety, with Anthropic's Dario Amodei publishing a "pace the frontier" plan while Nvidia's Jensen Huang has echoed claims that the AI backlash is a hoax and regulation is unnecessary.
The disagreement played out in a recent podcast debate among journalists Kirsten Korosec and Sean O'Kane, who examined whether executives such as Amodei and OpenAI chief Sam Altman are serious about wanting to slow the pace of AI development.
Amodei's proposal, published under the banner of pacing the frontier, drew support from an unexpectedly broad group of industry leaders, according to the discussion. O'Kane, however, argued the plan was thin on specifics.
The conversation turned to whether existing rules combined with ordinary market forces could provide adequate safeguards. O'Kane said the current federal government does not appear eager to enforce regulations in general, let alone in this area.
He also argued there is little consumer choice shaping the market, meaning a company that does something seriously harmful would not necessarily feel it through customer cancellations.
On the other side of the divide, Huang has publicly backed President Donald Trump's position that the AI backlash is a hoax and that regulation is not needed, illustrating how far apart the industry's most prominent voices remain on the question.