Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay over the weekend calling for the pace of frontier AI development to slow down. He said the goal was to give the world more time to manage safety risks tied to advanced AI systems.
The essay was endorsed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Both are rivals of Amodei in the AI industry.
China's state-backed newspaper Global Times pushed back hard on the essay. In an editorial, it said the true purpose of Amodei's proposal was to slow China's AI progress rather than address safety concerns.
Global Times Calls the Essay a "Cold War" Move
The Global Times editorial said Amodei's essay was really about "technological barriers and regulatory monopolies." It argued the goal was to keep Washington's control over cutting-edge technology and to keep China out of global AI governance talks.
The paper called the situation a "silent AI Cold War." It said the approach was "hypocritical and short-sighted."
The editorial also claimed that excluding China from AI development would raise the risk of errors and loss of control across the wider AI field. It did not offer specific evidence for that claim.
Amodei's essay went beyond calling for a slower pace of development. He also urged the United States to tighten chip export controls aimed at China.
He further called for a crackdown on what he described as model distillation by Chinese AI labs. Model distillation refers to training a smaller AI system using outputs from a larger one.
Amodei spoke with CBS News on Sunday about his proposal. He said the hardest question was what happens if China and other countries do not agree to slow down their own AI work.
Trump and Beijing Respond to the AI Slowdown Debate
President Trump addressed the calls to slow AI development on Sunday. He said "very negative forces" were behind claims that AI risks are being exaggerated.
Trump said the United States currently leads China in AI development. He added that he wants that lead to continue because "whoever wins AI wins."
China's foreign ministry also responded to the comments from U.S. tech leaders. Spokesperson Guo Jiakun urged all sides to take an "open, inclusive and benevolent approach to AI."
Guo warned that stoking threats and pursuing confrontation would only disrupt global AI governance. He said that approach is not in anyone's interest.
The debate comes as U.S. lawmakers weigh new rules for AI systems. Two Anthropic researchers previously warned that fast-moving AI could pose extreme risks to humanity if left unchecked.
Sources say the United States and China plan to hold talks on frontier AI safety risks in mid-September. The topic could also come up during a summit between President Trump and President Xi Jinping.
That summit is scheduled for September 24. It is expected to cover a wide range of issues between the two countries beyond AI.
As of Monday, neither Anthropic nor the White House has issued a new statement responding directly to the Global Times editorial.
