WorkSeptember 12, 2026via The Verge AI
Anthropic CEO says it’s time to pump the brakes on AI
Why it matters
A frontier lab CEO is publicly advocating for regulatory pacing and transparency, signaling a shift in how the industry approaches safety governance. This shapes policy conversations and competitive positioning around AI development speed.
Key signals
- Dario Amodei proposes three-step 'pacing the frontier' plan
- Anthropic granting METR and other third-party evaluators access to models unilaterally
- Step 1: external evaluator access (in progress); Step 2: industry-wide coordination; Step 3: regulatory involvement
- Focus on 'adherence to safety practices and commitments'
- Published September 12, 2026
- Dario Amodei proposes 'pacing the frontier' — slowing training and development cycles
- Anthropic unilaterally granting METR and other third-party evaluators access to models
- Three-step plan: (1) individual company evaluation access, (2) industry coordination, (3) regulatory evaluation
- Framed as creating time for safeguards and regulatory review
The hook
Anthropic unilaterally opens its models to third-party safety evaluators—and calls on the industry to slow down.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei says the time has come to slow down AI development and will give third-party evaluators like METR access to its models to help ensure its "adherence to safety practices and commitments." In a winding essay, Amodei proposed a three-step plan to "pace the frontier" - jargon …