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The AI debate began after Amodei called for a slowdown in AI development, which was endorsed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google’s Demis Hassabis.
File image of US Vice President JD Vance. (AFP photo)
The row over how fast artificial intelligence (AI) should develop has now turned into a clash between calls for greater regulation and demands for the industry to take responsibility for the risks it creates. On Tuesday, US Vice President JD Vance has criticised AI developers for seeking global governance while continuing to build increasingly advanced systems, while Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has backed stronger safety measures but rejected calls for a broad slowdown in AI progress.
Speaking on the All-In Podcast, Vance questioned why companies developing potentially dangerous AI systems were turning to governments for solutions instead of building defensive tools and taking responsibility for the technology they create. According to him its a “Frankenstein” situation.
“Why is it that the people who are at the frontier of the AI economy are throwing up their hands and saying, ‘Well, we’ve built Frankenstein,’ and the solution to Frankenstein apparently is to create a one-world governance structure for artificial intelligence?” Vance said.
He added, “If you’re building Frankenstein, stop. If the cat is out of the bag, then build the defensive mechanism against Frankenstein.”
Vance Questions AI Industry’s Approach
Vance also discussed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who has publicly called for the pace of AI development to be slowed.
Vance said he did not know Amodei well but had followed his recent statements. He said people he knew described Amodei as sincere and said his position appeared to be based on a deeply held belief rather than an attempt at regulatory capture.
“But at the same time, I talk to tech companies. I’m sure you guys talk to a lot more tech companies than I do,” Vance said.
He also pointed to concerns over cybersecurity tools developed through AI. According to Vance, companies seeking defensive systems were being denied access to tools needed to protect themselves.
“At the same time that you have this sort of cyber hacking tool that’s come out of Anthropic’s newest models, you have companies that are desperate for the defensive mechanisms to defend against that cyber hacking tool, and they’re being denied access to it,” he said.
Vance argued that AI companies should accept greater responsibility rather than immediately seeking government regulation.
“So if you’re going to create Frankenstein, don’t come to the government and say, ‘We need regulation.’ Look inward and accept that if you’re building Frankenstein, number one, you should stop, and number two, when the companies come to you and say, ‘We need the tools to fight back against Frankenstein,’ give them those tools,” he said.
Zuckerberg Enters AI Safety Debate
The debate has also drawn Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg into the discussion. It began after Amodei called for a slowdown in AI development, a position subsequently endorsed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google’s Demis Hassabis.
The debate intensified after Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon announced that he was leaving the industry, citing concerns that AI companies were racing to develop systems they might not be able to control.
Zuckerberg, in a post on X, referred to a blog he had written last month and argued that AI laboratories have a responsibility to develop their models safely.
“Every lab has the responsibility and incentive to move at the pace required to train its models safely, and the ability to take its own actions to ensure that happens,” he wrote. He said users would not want AI agents that were misaligned with their interests, giving companies a natural incentive to focus on alignment.
Meta Backs Independent AI Evaluators
Zuckerberg said trust and alignment were becoming key capabilities in the development of AI models and agents. He also pointed to liability risks if AI systems caused harm.
“Meta delayed shipping Muse for several months to focus on safety and security. We didn’t call for everyone else to do this before we would. We just did it as part of our day-to-day work because it was clearly the right thing for people and for us,” he said.
Zuckerberg also supported the use of independent evaluators and advisers to assess AI systems, calling it industry best practice and arguing that a larger and more diverse ecosystem of evaluators would be useful.
He further said labs should commit most of their computing power towards serving people rather than racing towards recursive self-improvement.
Zuckerberg Rejects AI ‘Doom’ Narrative
In his earlier blog, Zuckerberg said the central questions around superintelligence were who would have access to it and what it would be used for. He argued for individual empowerment, invention as the main purpose of superintelligence and a balance of power as the basis for safety.
“The defining questions of our age are who will have access to superintelligence and what will we direct it towards,” he wrote.
Zuckerberg also rejected fears centred on an extinction-level event, saying he was surprised by the amount of “doom” surrounding AI development.
He said Meta was committed to individual empowerment, invention and maintaining a balance of power that favoured people while addressing safety risks.
The debate over whether AI development should slow down has now become a wider discussion about safety, corporate responsibility, regulation and the future direction of the industry.
About the Author
Shuddhanta Patra is an Indian journalist with about nine years of experience in covering national politics, geopolitics, defence, diplomacy and international affairs. Her reporting focuses on South As…Read More
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