The AI Slowdown Debate

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**The latest on AI panic — and whether it's justified : Short Wave** **AI is in the news again – for its potential to end civilization. A researcher at Anthropic resigned very publicly last week, citing concerns about the accelerating capabilities of AI and what he called “irresponsible” behavior from major AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI. Following his resignation, the leaders of both companies called for an internationally cooperative, industry-wide slowdown on advanced AI development. And Wednesday, OpenAI disclosed six more incidents of “unexpected or concerning model behavior” and debuted a new framework for reporting misalignments. So, given all these events, how worried should we be about the future of AI? And what safety measures are – or could be – set in place to safeguard humanity? NPR’s power and policy reporter [Huo Jingnan](https://www.npr.org/people/726257042/huo-jingnan) reports.

*Interested in more science and technology news? Email us your question at* [*[email protected]*](mailto:[email protected])*.*

*Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at* [*plus.npr.org*](http://plus.npr.org)*.***

### [Short Wave](https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510351/short-wave)


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### [Short Wave](https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510351/short-wave)

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# The latest on AI panic — and whether it's justified

By

[Huo Jingnan](https://www.npr.org/people/726257042/huo-jingnan)

,

[Nathan Rott](https://www.npr.org/people/348779465/nathan-rott)

,

[Berly McCoy](https://www.npr.org/people/985775371/berly-mccoy)

,

[Rebecca Ramirez](https://www.npr.org/people/785481294/rebecca-ramirez)

#### SCI POD - AI slow roll

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Experts are sounding the alarm on advanced AI development... and calling for an industry-wide slowdown. Are they being paranoid about AI takeover? Or should we be concerned? **J Studios/Getty Images** ****hide caption****

****toggle caption****

J Studios/Getty Images

AI is in the news again – for its potential to end civilization. A researcher at Anthropic resigned very publicly last week, citing concerns about the accelerating capabilities of AI and what he called "irresponsible" behavior from major AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI. Following his resignation, the leaders of both companies called for an internationally cooperative, industry-wide slowdown on advanced AI development. And Wednesday, OpenAI disclosed six more incidents of "unexpected or concerning model behavior" and debuted a new framework for reporting misalignments. So, given all these events, how worried should we be about the future of AI? And what safety measures are – or could be – set in place to safeguard humanity? NPR's power and policy reporter [Huo Jingnan](https://www.npr.org/people/726257042/huo-jingnan) reports.

*Interested in more science and technology news? Email us your question at* [*[email protected]*](mailto:[email protected])*.*

*Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show's perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at* [*plus.npr.org*](http://plus.npr.org)*.*

*Listen to Short Wave on* [*Spotify*](https://n.pr/3HOQKeK) *and* [*Apple Podcasts*](https://n.pr/3WA9vqh)*.*

*This episode was produced by Berly McCoy. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Jimmy Keeley.*

**NPR does not offer or accept money for coverage or interviews.** Anyone who makes such an offer or request is not an NPR employee and does not represent NPR.

* [Anthropic](https://www.npr.org/tags/1269535611/anthropic) * [AI regulation](https://www.npr.org/tags/1252513273/ai-regulation)