Hard Fork · Friday, September 18, 2026
In response to growing concerns about AI safety and potential existential risks, leaders from major AI companies are calling for a coordinated global slowdown in AI development. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei proposed a 3800-word essay outlining methods for this slowdown, including embedding evaluators within AI companies to monitor for dangerous capabilities. Notably, Sam Altman of OpenAI, despite a history of disagreement with Amodei, has agreed to implement similar measures.
“We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. Progress will still seem fast. And we must make wise use of the time we gain.”
“He proposes a few different ways to actually conduct this coordinated slowdown. One of them is to put what he called embedded evaluators inside the major AI companies.”
“This to me was the part that felt like, oh, we are in a new era of this stuff. When like even Sam and Dario can agree on the need for a coordinated global slowdown. You know that things have gotten quite serious.”