Speaking during a Washington press briefing on Tuesday (September 15), OpenAI global policy chief Chris Lehane revealed that collaborative talks between the three frontier developers have already been actively progressing for multiple weeks. OpenAI has confirmed that it is working with competitors Anthropic and Google DeepMind on artificial intelligence (AI) safety measures. The joint initiative aims to confront mounting alarm among lawmakers and the public that uncontrolled computing models present grave economic hazards and national security liabilities, reports Bloomberg.
Earlier this week, a report by CNN cited sources as saying that the three companies are working together on an AI safety effort.
Anxiety over catastrophic risks reached a boiling point over the weekend following a 3,800-word open letter by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who called on development labs to deliberately dial back the speed of leading-edge model upgrades so computer scientists have adequate time to map and defuse emergent hazards. The plea won swift backing from high-profile technology figures, with OpenAI’s Sam Altman agreeing with the premise and xAI head Elon Musk voicing his support. Lehane noted that his presence in the capital involved direct negotiations with American legislators, asserting that OpenAI is ready to endorse bipartisan legislation designed to tackle catastrophic technology scenarios. The specific legislative packages favoured by OpenAI include a federal regulatory blueprint crafted by Republican Representative Jay Obernolte and Democratic Representative Lori Trahan as well as emerging bipartisan Senate legislation led by Majority Leader John Thune, Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Amy Klobuchar, which focuses squarely on heading off catastrophic computational harms.