Big AI wants to slow down AI research: Is it a safety pause or a strategic retreat?

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for AI developers, including Anthropic, to slow their work, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI head Elon Musk reportedly agreeing. The alignment among leaders of major AI competitors signals rising concern over the pace and potential risks of frontier-model development, potentially increasing expectations for more cautious deployment and regulatory scrutiny.