The chief executive of one of the world's leading artificial intelligence companies has called on the industry to slow the pace of its own development, saying the risks of the technology are rising and the safeguards meant to contain them have not kept up.

Dario Amodei, the head of Anthropic, made the appeal amid what he described as a series of close-call incidents and mounting safety warnings. He said the industry had not been honest about the dangers the technology could pose, telling Forbes that AI companies had "lied" about its risks. His central message was direct: the companies building the most powerful systems should ease off the accelerator.

The call drew a notable response from Amodei's competitors. Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk, rivals in the race to build advanced AI, both voiced support for the idea of a slowdown. Altman separately said an initial public offering for OpenAI was unlikely this year, a decision he tied in part to safety considerations.

Amodei acknowledged that any voluntary slowdown faces a hard problem: global competition. He described China as presenting the "toughest dilemma" for his proposal, because restraint by American firms would carry little weight if developers elsewhere pressed ahead. That tension — between caution and the drive to stay ahead — runs through much of the current debate.

In Washington, the appeals for restraint met a government still working out how, or whether, to act. Lawmakers across party lines agreed that the risks of AI are growing, but said they had no immediate solution. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Congress would not take the lead on the issue and that technology companies themselves must be primarily responsible for safety. Other lawmakers described alarm without a clear path to legislation.

Former President Barack Obama entered the discussion as well, urging Democrats to move AI oversight toward the center of their agenda and to prioritize a safety plan. His intervention added political weight to a subject that has largely lived within the technology sector.

President Trump offered a different view. He said "very negative forces" were raising exaggerated concerns about AI, pushing back against the tone of warning that has dominated recent weeks.

The debate arrives as public use of AI tools continues to climb. Survey findings reported by the Daily Caller indicated that even as adoption soars, many Americans want humans to remain in control of the technology.

Some observers questioned Amodei's motives, noting that a slowdown could benefit an established firm like Anthropic. A Forbes commentary argued he "doth protest too much," while the Wall Street Journal framed the company's stance as a moral conflict playing out in public. For now, the people building AI, the officials who might regulate it, and the public who use it have not settled on a shared answer to how fast it should go.

References

1. 1.Forbes — Amodei's call for a slowdown, his claim that AI companies "lied" about risks, and commentary arguing he "doth protest too much"
2. 2.Wall Street Journal — framing of Anthropic's stance as a moral conflict playing out in public
3. 3.Reporting on Altman and Musk voicing support for a slowdown, and Altman's comments on an unlikely OpenAI IPO this year
4. 4.Reporting on Amodei describing China as the "toughest dilemma" for his proposal
5. 5.Reporting on House Speaker Mike Johnson's remarks that Congress would not lead and that companies bear primary responsibility for safety
6. 6.Reporting on Barack Obama urging Democrats to prioritize AI oversight
7. 7.Reporting on President Trump's "very negative forces" remark
8. 8.Daily Caller — survey findings on rising AI adoption and public desire for human control