Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis called for government oversight and, potentially, a mandated pause for frontier AI research, warning that a race-to-the-top dynamic is exacerbating the technology’s risks.
AI will herald “a new age for humanity,” Hassabis wrote, greater than the Industrial Revolution, but only if deployed responsibly. As it stands, we are not “[giving] ourselves the time and space” to get it right.
He said the US should establish a standards body, new models should be shared with that body 30 days before launch, and if major risks are uncovered, a “slowdown” could be coordinated between frontier labs. Hassabis’ call follows some influential researchers’ proposal for safe AI, “Plan A,” which suggests international collaboration and a coordinated delay.