Michael Burry, the investor famously portrayed in "The Big Short," has criticized leaders of artificial intelligence companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, accusing them of making "self-serving" calls to slow down AI development. Burry suggested these pronouncements are a strategy to obscure decelerating growth and postpone initial public offerings (IPOs).
Burry expressed his views on X, formerly Twitter, stating, "Let’s all take a moment to understand how self-serving it is for OpenAI, Anthropic and other execs of big hyperscalers to talk of slowing things down." He believes that a pause in development would benefit AI giants as they face challenges in sustaining the rapid growth experienced earlier in the AI boom, particularly as IPOs are being delayed.
He characterized the appeals for a slowdown as a form of regulatory capture, where established companies leverage regulations to stifle emerging competitors. According to Burry, these calls serve as a marketing tactic ahead of major IPOs. "IPOs need hype & puffery; ‘we are so awesome it could become dangerous’ is hype & puffery," he wrote.
Burry has previously drawn parallels between the current surge in AI investment and the dot-com bubble of the early 2000s. He contends that current large language models (LLMs) are not indicative of artificial general intelligence (AGI), stating, "LLMs are not AI and won’t be AGI." The debate around AI safety largely centers on AGI, which refers to machines possessing human-level cognitive abilities that could potentially pose existential risks.
His remarks follow similar calls for greater AI oversight and a slower pace of development from prominent figures in the AI industry, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis. These statements have sparked debate among AI experts and industry leaders.
David Sacks, a technology adviser to former President Trump, questioned the sincerity of these calls, posting on X, "Stop pretending the motivation to slow down is purely altruistic." Venture capitalist Bill Gurley also expressed skepticism to The New York Times, suggesting that any regulatory framework should be independent of industry insiders. Vice President JD Vance echoed these concerns, calling the AI companies' appeals for regulation a potential "Trojan horse."
Anthropic's Amodei published an essay advocating for a moderated pace of AI capability improvement, a sentiment echoed by OpenAI's Altman. Elon Musk, founder of SpaceXAI, also voiced agreement with Amodei's position.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has also supported a more deliberate approach, emphasizing the need for careful consideration of AI alignment. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis has previously advocated for a global AI watchdog to oversee advanced models.
The ongoing discussion about AI safety and the appropriate speed of development has seen companies like Anthropic simultaneously raising capital and highlighting potential risks. The Trump administration has been developing a voluntary framework for evaluating new AI models, with details expected to be released soon.