OpenAI and rivals expand AI safety talks amid U.S. policy debate

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OpenAI, rivals expand AI safety talks

Highlights

OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind have coordinated for several weeks on AI safety talks as Washington intensifies focus on catastrophic AI risks.
Major AI labs are exploring the creation of an industry standards body without formal U.S. government backing, as regulatory policy divides in Washington become sharper.
OpenAI supports the FRONTIER Act provision requiring independent third-party verification of frontier models, aligning with Anthropic and Google DeepMind to promote model safety.

Industry coordination and policy push

As first reported by TechCrunch, citing Bloomberg, OpenAI global policy chief Chris Lehane tells reporters on Tuesday that the company has been working with Anthropic and Google DeepMind for several weeks on AI safety. Lehane is in Washington to engage with U.S. lawmakers on catastrophic risks tied to advanced AI systems.

The talks follow an essay published Saturday by Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei, who calls for the industry to work together to slow the pace of frontier AI if needed and reduce severe risks. OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman, Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis and SpaceXAI's Elon Musk support Amodei's appeal, and Altman says OpenAI will join Anthropic in using third-party evaluators to monitor safety.

Lehane says the three companies do not need a government waiver to hold those discussions, even as some executives, including Altman, note that coordination could raise antitrust concerns if it is seen as suppressing competition. The discussions also reinforce earlier signs that major labs are moving toward a more formal framework for joint safety work.

Standards body debate and regulatory impact

This week's developments add to reports that the companies are exploring an industry standards body for AI, potentially without direct backing from the U.S. government. Altman had hinted in a Fortune interview late last week that he was already in private talks with other AI leaders, while The Information reports this week that OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind are working together on such a body.

Hassabis had already urged the U.S. in July to create a watchdog-style standards body with authority to screen the world's most advanced models and coordinate industry-wide slowdowns if risks escalate. That idea now gains added relevance as the policy divide in Washington sharpens.

President Trump dismisses AI safety concerns as a hoax and argues that tighter rules would hand China an advantage, while his AI adviser David Sacks says fears of existential risk are overstated. At the same Tuesday meeting, Lehane says OpenAI supports a provision in the FRONTIER Act that would require leading frontier labs to admit independent verification organizations to help ensure models are developed safely.

In our earlier article, we covered how the U.S. debate over AI regulation is intensifying as political and industry leaders clash over whether development should be slowed on safety grounds. We noted President Donald Trump’s dismissal of AI takeover fears as a “hoax,” alongside warnings from industry executives about escalating cybersecurity risks and the knock-on effect of safety concerns on AI-linked stocks.

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