News thumbnail
Business / Thu, 17 Sep 2026 theverge.com

The AI Superintelligence Slowdown

It seemed that would be the way of AI too. But after a summer where rogue AI agents became reality, and researchers warned that AI could kill us all, a number of leading US AI companies are publicly suggesting it’s time to pump the brakes and “pace the frontier” of bleeding-edge AI development. Their motivations are suspect, but leaders at major AI companies — including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and X — are at least paying lip service to the idea of a superintelligence slowdown. Will these AI companies actually slow down? Will they manage to convince world leaders that the US must “beat China” to superintelligence and go even faster?

Remember when tech leaders would tell their employees to “move fast and break things”? It seemed that would be the way of AI too. But after a summer where rogue AI agents became reality, and researchers warned that AI could kill us all, a number of leading US AI companies are publicly suggesting it’s time to pump the brakes and “pace the frontier” of bleeding-edge AI development.

Their motivations are suspect, but leaders at major AI companies — including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and X — are at least paying lip service to the idea of a superintelligence slowdown.

Will these AI companies actually slow down? Will anyone step in to regulate these companies like they claim to have wanted for years? Will they manage to convince world leaders that the US must “beat China” to superintelligence and go even faster?

© All Rights Reserved.