OpenAI Seeks Antitrust Guidance on AI Slowdown as Congress Weighs 1 Safety-Collaboration Bill
Updated
Updated · WIRED · Sep 10
OpenAI Seeks Antitrust Guidance on AI Slowdown as Congress Weighs 1 Safety-Collaboration Bill
3 articles · Updated · WIRED · Sep 10
Summary
OpenAI has quietly asked lawmakers in recent weeks whether an industry-wide slowdown in frontier AI development could be legal, as it explores coordinated safety measures with rival labs.
Antitrust risk is the obstacle: legal scholars say a joint pause could be treated as output restriction under the Sherman Act, deterring companies even if some safety collaboration might survive scrutiny.
Jakub Pachocki, OpenAI’s chief scientist, argued last weekend that voluntary slowdowns may need to become common until shared safety bars are established for self-improving AI systems.
A bipartisan July bill would explicitly let AI labs coordinate on security and safety work without triggering antitrust liability, but supporters say any law may have to wait until after the midterm elections.
The push comes as AI safety fears intensify after recent security incidents and public warnings from former OpenAI and Anthropic researchers, sharpening calls in Washington for broader regulation.