Pacing Problem: Can AI Fears Overcome US-China Race Dynamics?

A cluster of leading US AI figures is now openly urging a slower pace for frontier artificial intelligence, a position described as almost unthinkable even a year earlier after years of rapid development.

Calls for “pacing”

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI chief Sam Altman and SpaceXAI founder Elon Musk have all called in recent weeks for “pacing” the development of frontier artificial intelligence.

Their stated concern is that AI capabilities may be advancing faster than the safeguards designed to control them.

The shift is notable because the same US AI leaders remain locked in a high-stakes race against each other, even as they warn about the risks of rapid development.

That race is also framed against competition with China, making any slowdown difficult to separate from wider US-China dynamics.

Summit backdrop

The public statements have come ahead of a highly anticipated summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on Thursday.

The summit follows a weekend meeting in New York City between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng to discuss AI safety.

Together, the warnings from AI executives and the diplomatic discussions place AI safety alongside the competitive pressures shaping the technology’s future.

The central tension is whether fears about fast-moving AI capabilities can outweigh the incentives pushing US companies and China to keep moving quickly.

Source: South China Morning Post