AI-linked stocks experienced a significant decline on Monday following statements from the leaders of Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX, who urged a slowdown in 'reckless' AI development due to concerns over the technology's potential to run out of control. Shares in SoftBank, a major investor in OpenAI, fell by 13%, while the South Korean Kospi index, heavily reliant on chip manufacturers supporting AI companies, dropped by 3%. In Taipei, shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, a major global microchip supplier, also declined by 1.2%. Futures for the Nasdaq indicated a 1.3% drop in the tech-heavy index when the US stock market opened.
The sell-off was prompted by the chief executive of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, who called for the AI industry to slow down, warning that rapid development could lead to AI agents causing hundreds of billions of dollars in damage by taking over the entire internet. Amodei's claims were supported by the CEOs of OpenAI, Sam Altman, Google DeepMind, Demis Hassabis, and SpaceX, Elon Musk, who all posted support for Amodei's essay on slowing AI development. Altman also announced that OpenAI would match Amodei's commitment to embedding outside evaluators within the company to verify safety practices.
Concerns over the rapid pace and lack of regulation in AI development have been growing. A cross-party group of MPs and peers identified a series of human rights risks posed by AI, arguing that no country in the world has laws sufficient to contain them. However, US President Donald Trump rejected the calls to pace AI development, stating that the US is leading China in AI and wants to maintain its position as the most sophisticated country in the world.
Jim Reid of Deutsche Bank suggested that intense competition in the sector would make it unlikely for AI companies to stop investing heavily in their technology. He noted that it is difficult to see China standing still, highlighting the competitive race between companies and countries. Reid also speculated that the executives' discussions on the risks of increasingly powerful systems could be an attempt to highlight the transformative potential of the technology and advertise the power of their products. He suggested that a greater share of AI investment might be directed towards safety, monitoring, and governance alongside the continued build-out of compute infrastructure.
Despite the warnings, Anthropic reported that it is on track to be profitable this quarter, with adjusted operating income expected to be positive for a second consecutive quarter. The company is preparing to list on the US stock market this year. OpenAI has also indicated its intention to go public, although Altman stated that the company would not do so in 2026 due to safety concerns with the technology.
