Sam Altman says AI labs should slow development and add safety checks
AI safety rules gain urgency as Altman urges slower frontier model progress. See why investors, lawmakers, and tech leaders are debating AI guardrails now.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said artificial intelligence companies should move more slowly on frontier model development and support stronger safety rules. His comments came after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Elon Musk backed a weekend call for the industry to pace progress.
Altman said he supports a federal framework with consistent safety requirements for advanced AI systems and warned that unchecked competition could create serious risks. He said the industry should use independent evaluators and common standards to reduce the chance that capabilities advance faster than monitoring and alignment.
The debate has intensified after recent warnings from AI safety researchers and has also raised concern among investors, with AI stocks falling on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump rejected the slowdown call, while lawmakers in Washington continue working on possible safeguards. The discussion also highlights the challenge of coordinating safety rules internationally, especially as the U.S. and China compete for AI leadership.