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Anthropic chief Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk have supported slowing AI development while regulation and safety work catch up, according to TechRadar. Their calls have opened a dispute with US President Donald Trump and China over whether restraint would reduce risk or alter the competitive balance between the two countries.
Industry leaders seek more time
Amodei argued in an essay that delaying the arrival of critically capable models by one or two years could provide more time for alignment research. He also proposed pacing development in the US and internationally, alongside evaluator teams intended to check whether models remain aligned with their assigned tasks.
Musk publicly agreed with Amodei's position. Altman separately told Fortune that AI regulations and standards were not sufficiently developed to support the industry's current pace. The statements followed the resignation of Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, who warned of severe risks if progress does not slow.
Washington and Beijing push back
Trump rejected slowing US AI development, arguing that doing so would allow China to close the capability gap. Beijing challenged the safety framing from the opposite direction: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun characterized the rhetoric as fearmongering and confrontational competition associated with a Cold War approach.
The disagreement also reflects Amodei's contention that Chinese leadership in AI would endanger the US and the wider world. That geopolitical framing makes coordinated limits difficult because either country could see unilateral restraint as an advantage for its competitor.
Coordination remains the obstacle
Security specialists cited by TechRadar said voluntary restrictions would have limited effect unless governments and major frontier-model companies act together. John Strand of Black Hills Information Security said both the US and China have strong economic and military incentives to continue development, weakening the practical force of industry appeals.
Enterprises still face current risks
Other contributors cautioned that slowing future models would not address AI agents already operating with credentials and access to production systems. They emphasized access controls, monitoring, independent evaluation, containment and evidence of agents' actions. For organizations deploying AI, the immediate issue is therefore governance of existing systems, regardless of whether frontier development ultimately slows.
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