Stock markets experienced significant declines on Monday following statements from leaders at Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX advocating for reduced pace in AI development due to safety concerns. Semiconductor and technology companies saw notable share price drops, with Nvidia declining 3.3%, AMD falling 4%, and European chipmaker ASML losing 6% by day’s end. The Nasdaq index fell 0.5% overall.
Dario Amodei, chief executive of Anthropic, issued an appeal for the AI industry to decelerate development, warning that rapid advancement could be “reckless” and pose substantial risks. Other prominent technology leaders, including Sam Altman of OpenAI, Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind, and Elon Musk of SpaceX, expressed support for this position. Jack Clark, an Anthropic co-founder, suggested an AI “kill switch” controlled by third parties might be necessary to prevent catastrophic outcomes.
President Donald Trump responded to the slowdown calls on social media, characterizing them as a “sick conspiracy” and stating that strong presidential leadership, rather than regulatory controls, was the appropriate response to AI development. During a call to Nvidia chief Jensen Huang at an AI conference, Trump dismissed concerns as a “hoax,” asserting that fears of AI takeover were unfounded. He argued his administration had already prevented harmful AI activities.
International bodies have begun addressing AI governance concerns. The UN Security Council plans to convene a meeting on AI in the coming week as global concern intensifies. Meanwhile, UK lawmakers identified human rights risks associated with AI systems, and Chinese officials warned that advanced US AI models could threaten critical infrastructure and national security.
Despite the market reaction and safety concerns, analysts questioned whether voluntary restraint would actually occur. Jim Reid of Deutsche Bank noted that intense competition among companies and countries makes substantial pullback unlikely, suggesting that increased spending on safety measures alongside infrastructure investment may be more probable than reduced overall investment. Separately, reports indicated Anthropic is approaching profitability ahead of a planned US stock listing this year, while OpenAI signaled it would defer public markets until after 2026 due to safety considerations.
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