Story perspectives

Altman Warns OpenAI May Slow Advanced AI Development

By Drooid · Sep 12, 2026, 2:06 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Sam Altman told OpenAI staff the company may slow development of its most advanced AI models.
Jacob Coxon quit Anthropic and warned that OpenAI and Anthropic are “gambling with our lives.”
Over 1,100 OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta employees signed a petition urging the U.S. government to pace advanced AI development.
Sam Altman said he has spoken with White House officials about tempering the rate of AI progress.

History

Historical Context

In February 1975, Paul Berg organized the Asilomar Conference on recombinant DNA, gathering roughly 140 biologists, including David Baltimore and Maxine Singer, to draft voluntary safety guidelines for gene-splicing experiments. The meeting demonstrated that coordinated self-regulation could shape federal policy. Inspired by that precedent, Sam Altman, Jacob Coxon and over 1,100 AI researchers have petitioned the U.S. government to apply similar oversight to advanced artificial-intelligence systems.

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Story summary

Sam Altman told OpenAI staff the company may slow development of its most advanced AI models.
Jacob Coxon quit Anthropic and warned that OpenAI and Anthropic are “gambling with our lives.”
Over 1,100 OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta employees signed a petition urging the U.S. government to pace advanced AI development.
Sam Altman said he has spoken with White House officials about tempering the rate of AI progress.

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