Altman details AI safety plan backing slowdown push — SkimNews

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- Sam Altman posted his most detailed safety framework on X, warning AI could go "very badly" two ways: losing "control of the future to AI" or concentrating too much power around a single person or company.
- Anthropic's Dario Amodei proposed a three-step plan: giving external evaluators "employee-like access," establishing common safety standards across frontier AI labs, and attempting global coordination on pacing AI progress.
- Elon Musk joined Altman and Amodei backing the slowdown call Saturday, marking a rare display of unity among competing AI CEOs, with the push amplified after an Anthropic researcher quit last week warning AI could "kill us all by the end of the decade."
- President Trump dismissed the CEOs' warning Sunday, saying a slowdown was not needed and would jeopardize America's AI lead over China.
- AI stocks fell Monday as investors digested the comments, while Altman separately ruled out an OpenAI IPO in 2026 in a Fortune interview despite expectations of historic offerings from both OpenAI and Anthropic.
- China's Foreign Ministry labeled the CEOs' comments "fearmongering," and state-owned Global Times accused Amodei of portraying China's legitimate AI development as a threat to fuel U.S.–China confrontation.
Why it matters: The rare CEO unity on slowing frontier AI directly collides with Trump's push to outpace China and Beijing's 'fearmongering' rejection, leaving U.S. lawmakers to write the rules alone. Altman insists on 'pacing, not stopping' — but with AI stocks selling off Monday and Anthropic and OpenAI prepping historic IPOs, the industry's self-imposed speed limit is now the only brake in town.
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