The AI Superintelligence Slowdown
Remember when tech leaders told employees to "move fast and break things"? For years, it seemed AI would follow the same playbook. But after a summer in which rogue AI agents became a reality — and researchers openly warned that AI could pose an existential threat — several leading US AI companies are now publicly suggesting it's time to pump the brakes and "pace the frontier" of cutting-edge AI development.
Their motivations are suspect. Yet leaders at major AI companies — including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and X — are at least paying lip service to the idea of a superintelligence slowdown.
Will these AI companies actually slow down? Will anyone step in to regulate them in the way they claim to have wanted for years? Or will they manage to convince world leaders that the US must "beat China" to superintelligence and therefore go even faster?
Read on for the latest updates in this AI saga.
Highlights
- Inside the suddenly explosive world of AI safety
- Microsoft AI CEO says AI threats are real — and Anthropic is making it worse
- What execs and politicians are saying about slowing down AI development
- Anthropic CEO says it's time to pump the brakes on AI
(Updated Sep 17, 2026)
via The Verge AI