AI industry leaders call for development slowdown amid safety concerns

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has triggered widespread concern regarding safety, ethics, and societal impact. Industry leaders and researchers are calling for a deceleration of development to establish necessary safeguards. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, has advocated for a global slowdown, warning that without proper controls, autonomous bot networks could potentially disrupt internet infrastructure and cause massive economic damage.

Former OpenAI and Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon has also raised alarms regarding the competitive race to develop superhuman systems, suggesting that corporate competition may be sidelining safety protocols. These warnings are echoed by over 1,300 employees at major AI firms, including Google, who have signed letters urging more deliberate integration of the technology into society.

Beyond industrial risks, the United Nations has warned that AI is being used by extremist organizations to accelerate propaganda through personalized, automated content. Additionally, health and legal experts are highlighting social harms: mental health professionals in Mexico are concerned about youth using AI as an unregulated emotional refuge, while prosecutors in Spain report that AI is being weaponized to facilitate digital harassment and gender-based violence among adolescents.