Column|Nobody Is Actually Pausing AI. We Asked the Labs

We are launching a new report format, Column, where we share our takes on the hottest topics recently, supported by our checks conducted through our own Expert Database. In this debut edition, we elaborate our view on the AI slowdown debate after conducting a few checks with experts at the frontier labs.

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Dario Amodei’s call on September 12 to slow frontier AI development, backed by Sam Altman and Elon Musk, sparked a selloff in AI hardware stocks. We think the initial market reaction was overly pessimistic. Recent rebound suggests that investors are reassessing the implications.

Source: FUNDA

The key questions we ask ourselves are: (1) What’s Amodei’s true motives behind his “sudden” call to restrict AI research, including at his own company? (2) Could the industry actually slow down this time? (3) What does it mean for growth of the AI supply chain?

To explore these questions, we spoke with three friends at leading frontier AI labs. Here’s our take.