{"slug": "openai-is-open-to-slowing-cutting-edge-ai-ceo-sam-altman-tells-staff", "title": "OpenAI is open to slowing cutting-edge AI, CEO Sam Altman tells staff", "summary": "OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told employees at a company-wide meeting this week that OpenAI is open to slowing development of cutting-edge AI, possibly in coordination with other AI labs, according to people familiar with the matter. OpenAI's top scientist Jakub Pachocki wrote that AI companies should be \"coordinating to slow down future development as needed,\" and OpenAI said it has slowed parts of model development and paused certain internal AI training over safety concerns. The stance follows public risk warnings from departing researchers at Anthropic and Google DeepMind, a petition signed by more than 1,000 staffers at major AI companies in late July, and a viral post by former Anthropic and OpenAI researcher Jacob Coxon that drew more than 150 million views; both OpenAI and rival Anthropic have filed confidential paperwork to go public earlier in 2026.", "body_md": "# OpenAI is open to slowing cutting-edge AI, CEO Sam Altman tells staff\n\nThis comes as staff of leading AI firms voice public concerns about the technology’s risks\n\n[SAN FRANCISCO] OpenAI is considering slowing down the development of cutting-edge artificial intelligence, and the ChatGPT maker’s chief executive officer Sam Altman is hoping that other AI companies will do the same.\n\nIn a company-wide meeting this week, Altman told employees that OpenAI could potentially pace its AI development – perhaps in conjunction with several other AI labs – but that some may not agree to do so, according to multiple people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the details are private.\n\nIn recent weeks, employees of leading AI firms have raised public concerns about the increased risks of advanced AI systems, fuelling anxiety inside these companies.\n\nBoth OpenAI and its rival Anthropic have filed confidential paperwork to go public earlier in 2026.\n\nOpenAI declined to comment.\n\nThe company’s top scientist, Jakub Pachocki, recently wrote a post warning about the dangers of AI and said that he believes AI companies should be “coordinating to slow down future development as needed”.\n\nPachocki added that he hopes “for voluntary slowdowns to become commonplace until shared safety bars are established”.\n\nOpenAI said it has slowed parts of model development and paused certain internal AI training recently due to safety concerns. In July, Altman also said that he had spoken with White House officials about the “need” to pace AI development.\n\n## Concerns about AI development\n\nOn Tuesday (Sep 8), Jacob Coxon, an AI researcher, quit his job and accused both of his former employers – Anthropic and OpenAI – of “gambling with our lives” by racing toward superintelligent AI.\n\nCoxon said in a social media post that the people building AI believe it could “kill us all by the end of the decade”. The comments went viral, attracting more than 150 million views and attention from prominent lawmakers and public figures.\n\nOn Thursday, two researchers who recently departed roles at Anthropic and Google’s DeepMind also publicised concerns about the rapid pace of AI development, saying that AI makers need to be more transparent about the technology’s risks.\n\nAnd in late July, more than 1,000 staffers across all the major AI companies signed a petition calling for a mechanism to slow the pace of AI development. Several AI staffers working on safety have resigned from major labs in recent months.\n\nWhile many AI industry executives and workers have long warned about the existential risk of AI systems, concerns have grown in response to revelations that AI agents from OpenAI worked together to breach containment and hack into a third-party website.\n\nThis and other similar security incidents have stoked fears about the cyber capabilities of new models and the apparent failures of AI companies to prevent them from running amok. BLOOMBERG\n\nDecoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.\n\nShare with us your feedback on BT's products and services", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-is-open-to-slowing-cutting-edge-ai-ceo-sam-altman-tells-staff", "canonical_source": "https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/openai-open-slowing-cutting-edge-ai-ceo-sam-altman-tells-staff", "published_at": "2026-09-11 01:38:18+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-09-11 01:52:17.665618+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-safety", "ai-policy", "artificial-intelligence", "ai-startups"], "entities": ["OpenAI", "Sam Altman", "Jakub Pachocki", "Anthropic", "Google DeepMind", "Jacob Coxon", "ChatGPT"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-is-open-to-slowing-cutting-edge-ai-ceo-sam-altman-tells-staff", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-is-open-to-slowing-cutting-edge-ai-ceo-sam-altman-tells-staff.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-is-open-to-slowing-cutting-edge-ai-ceo-sam-altman-tells-staff.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-is-open-to-slowing-cutting-edge-ai-ceo-sam-altman-tells-staff.jsonld"}}