OpenAI CEO Altman Backs Slowing AI Development for Safety

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has publicly backed a "slowing down" approach to AI development, aiming to keep frontier models from advancing beyond human control. He said shifting focus to safety comes at a cost, but it helps maintain confidence that US companies are responsible when building increasingly powerful AI. Altman stressed that "slowing down" does not mean "stopping" progress, and reiterated OpenAI's support for a federal AI regulatory framework in the US, while noting the need for government help with international coordination.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and SpaceX AI head Elon Musk had also recently found rare common ground, calling for slower AI development. Altman also confirmed that OpenAI will not go public in 2026 due to safety priorities.

Asian AI stocks fell on Monday after the news. SoftBank Group dropped 13% in Tokyo, while Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each fell over 4% in Seoul.