CEOs of leading US AI firms, including Anthropic's Dario Amodei, OpenAI's Sam Altman, and xAI's Elon Musk, have called for a slowdown in AI development to mitigate potential global threats. Amodei warned that AI agents could potentially cause hundreds of billions of dollars in economic damage within 6 to 12 months.
Following these warnings, global AI-related stocks experienced significant declines. SoftBank shares dropped 13.2%, while Kioxia and Tokyo Electron saw losses of 9.8% and 3.7% respectively. In other markets, TSMC fell 1.2%, SK Hynix dropped 6.35%, and Samsung Electronics declined 4.05%.
In the Chinese market, ChangXin Memory Technologies fell 3.95%, SMIC dropped 2.84%, and Zhipu AI shares plummeted 10.5% following a discounted share placement. Analysts suggest that the market, which previously relied on rapid AI growth, is now reacting to concerns over potential development delays and capital return uncertainties.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed that the company will not pursue an IPO this year due to safety considerations. Meanwhile, Anthropic recently released a report detailing the misuse of its Claude model for activities including weapons development and cyber operations, further fueling public concern.
Despite the industry warnings, US President Donald Trump criticized those calling for development slowdowns, emphasizing the need for the US to maintain global leadership in AI. Additionally, reports indicate that the US and China plan to hold bilateral talks regarding AI safety this month.
