"Direction is correct": Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis backs Anthropic boss Dario Amodei's calls for AI slowdown

San Francisco (California) [US], September 13 (ANI): Following public resignations of researchers fearing that AI labs are racing to build uncontrollable systems, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has advocated for an industry-wide slowdown and third-party evaluations. These safety announcements have immediately drawn high-profile responses from top tech executives and senior lawmakers.

Dario's essay points towards the right path forward. The details need working through, but the direction is correct for meeting this critical moment.

This is also why we recently put out our proposal for an industry-wide standards body for frontier AI. https://t.co/Mm1hmcaSmH https://t.co/sESEDGELmj

— Demis Hassabis (@demishassabis) September 12, 2026

Weighing in on the evolving discourse surrounding frontier technology, Demis Hassabis, the co-founder and chair of Google DeepMind and the chief scientist of Alphabet, stated on X, “Dario's essay points towards the right path forward. The details need working through, but the direction is correct for meeting this critical moment. This is also why we recently put out our proposal for an industry-wide standards body for frontier AI.”

When we put "loss of control" on the agenda at Bletchley in 2023, I worried it sounded like science fiction. This summer shows it no longer is and, like Dario points out, we may be far closer to that moment than anyone realised.

AI agents are now being used to build the next… https://t.co/ifiuEPDJkj

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) September 12, 2026

Former UK PM Rishi Sunak who acts as an Advisor to Anthropic also lent weight to Dario Amodei's plans to slow down saying a frank conversation was required on avoiding potential catastrophe. 
"The decision on how fast frontier research advances is too important to be left to the labs. Governments, starting with the US, have to step up; just as they do for nuclear power or advanced biology. That means independent verification that the research is being done safely, an honest picture of how close the labs are to recursive self-improvement, and proper protection against models being stolen. Voluntary testing before release was right for 2023. It isn't enough now. Dario is right to call today for slowing the pace of frontier development so that safety can keep up, and it is good to see a consensus starting to build on this across the industry. When the labs themselves are asking for speed limits, governments should listen. There's a trade-off with maintaining the advantage over China and it has to be faced honestly. But even as the US and China compete, they urgently need a frank conversation about how to avoid catastrophe," he wrote in a post on X.

Dario Amodei, Elon Musk and Sam Altman now agree that we must slow down the development of AI and “pace the frontier.”

That’s a start, but it’s not enough.

When you are racing towards a cliff, you don’t just ease up on the gas pedal. You hit the brakes.

When the future of…

— Sen. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) September 12, 2026

Building on the broader conversation surrounding the trajectory of frontier technology, the veteran American lawmaker Bernie Sanders weighed in with a stark warning regarding the rapid acceleration of artificial intelligence.
Addressing the shifting stances within the tech industry, the senior United States senator from Vermont stated on X, “Dario Amodei, Elon Musk and Sam Altman now agree that we must slow down the development of AI and “pace the frontier.” That’s a start, but it’s not enough. When you are racing towards a cliff, you don’t just ease up on the gas pedal. You hit the brakes. When the future of humanity is at stake we need a PAUSE on advanced AI development and a ban on artificial superintelligence — an AI mind smarter than any human and capable of operating independently beyond our control. At their upcoming AI summit, Trump and Xi must negotiate a treaty to pause AI and ban superintelligence before it is too late.” 
Detailing his plan on Saturday, Amodei said Anthropic would open system access to third-party evaluators.
“We Must Pace the Frontier: I’ve written a new essay on why the AI industry should slow down, with a three-part plan for doing so. Anthropic is unilaterally committing to the first of these steps. We’ll provide third-party evaluators with permanent, employee-level access to our systems, so that they can verify adherence to our safety measures, report on incidents, and assess models’ alignment during training,” he wrote on X.
In his essay, Amodei argues that AI could raise the quality of life, but along with its advantages, it carries major risks.
“I have worked on AI for the last twelve years because I believe it could dramatically raise the quality of human life. I’ve written often about these incredible benefits: I believe that AI could cure most major diseases in the next 5–10 years, greatly accelerate economic growth rates, create a world of abundance and empowerment, and usher in a renaissance of democracy and freedom. But like many technologies before it, AI brings risks, and because it is such a powerful technology, these risks are serious. I’ve written a lot about them too. They include the risk of losing control of AI systems, misuse of AI for cyberattacks and bioterrorism, and serious economic disruption. A race to the bottom, spurred by commercial incentives, can make these risks more acute,” he writes.
Amodei says he is advocating slowing down the pace of AI model development, as if unchecked, this could outrun human ability to control such systems.
Amodei then proposed a three-step plan for pacing the frontier and building AI at a balanced rate that aims to ensure its safety. These include: each frontier AI company committing to giving ongoing, employee-like access to a team of embedded third-party evaluators, coordination to establish common safety standards as well as limits on the rate of unchecked AI progress, and greater global coordination.
The flurry in the AI industry comes after Jacob Coxon, a researcher associated with Anthropic publicly announced he was quitting the industry, allegedly over fears that the company and its competitors were 'racing to build systems they won’t be able to control'. (ANI)