What happened in this Tech story?

AI executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Microsoft, and X publicly called for slowing AI development this week — a pattern stretching back over a decade, from Musk's 2017 governors' plea to Anthropic's October 2024 call for 'targeted regulation.'

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**OpenAI CEO Sam Altman** publicly called this past week for slowing AI before humanity 'loses control,' joined by Anthropic's Dario Amodei, Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and X CEO Elon Musk.

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**Elon Musk** told the July 2017 National Governors Association that 'by the time we are reactive in AI regulation, it's too late,' having already invested $38 million in OpenAI and warned about AI dangers since June 2014.

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A brief history of AI executives calling for regulation — SkimNews

By The Verge AI · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-09-16

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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly called this past week for slowing AI before humanity 'loses control,' joined by Anthropic's Dario Amodei, Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and X CEO Elon Musk.
Elon Musk told the July 2017 National Governors Association that 'by the time we are reactive in AI regulation, it's too late,' having already invested $38 million in OpenAI and warned about AI dangers since June 2014.
Samuel Butler warned in 1863 about intelligent self-replicating machines replacing humans, and his 1872 book Erewhon depicted a society that had regulated machines out of existence; Alan Turing warned in a 1951 lecture that undying machines would 'outstrip our feeble powers.'
Sam Altman told a May 16, 2023 US Senate hearing that 'regulatory intervention by governments will be critical,' with Anthropic's CEO warning senators nine days later that AI could help create bioweapons.
Elon Musk signed a March 2023 Future of Life Institute letter calling for a pause on 'giant AI experiments' — then announced his own AI company two weeks later.
Meta, Google, and OpenAI signed nonbinding AI safety pledges with the White House, the UK AI Summit, and the AI Seoul Summit between July 2023 and May 2024 — none of which produced binding law.
California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 1047 in September 2024 despite support from Musk and Anthropic, stating 'I do not believe this is the best approach to protecting the public from real threats.'

Why it matters: The executives issuing these calls have direct financial stakes — Musk invested $38 million in OpenAI before his 2017 plea and launched xAI weeks after signing a 2023 'pause' letter. Each milestone produced only nonbinding pledges (White House accord, Seoul Summit) or vetoed state bills (SB 1047), leaving executives free to shape the conversation while Congress writes nothing.