DOMINANT ANGLE
Ottawa interprets Dario Amodei's call as the industry's own admission of an existential risk that it no longer fully controls, while noting that skepticism about his motivations has not disappeared.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Dario Amodei warns that AI could, in six to twelve months, become capable of directing a swarm able to take control of the entire internet.
- 02
Sam Altman announced that OpenAI would commit to one of Amodei's security proposals, while Elon Musk stated on X: "Dario is right."
- 03
Anthropic indicated it had blocked, two days before Amodei's call, malicious actors seeking to use its models for cyberattacks, surveillance, or research related to biological weapons.
ANALYSIS
Ottawa, September 13, 2026. Canadian media reported on Saturday, September 12, 2026, the warning from Dario Amodei, head of Anthropic, calling on the artificial intelligence industry to slow down its development pace to allow time for security measures to "catch up", according to words quoted by Global News and CBC News.
According to Amodei, AI could, within six to twelve months, become capable of directing a "swarm" that could take control of the entire internet. He proposed, in a text published on his site, a multi-part plan to strengthen controls on the industry, including a part that Anthropic says it already applies on its own. The rest would require coordination with the entire sector and with governments around the world, "including authoritarian regimes", CBC specifies.
Key quote picked up by the two outlets: "I believe that if slowing down bought us just one or two extra years before models reach critical levels of capability, and we used that time to make progress on alignment, we could greatly reduce the risk of a serious event occurring."
Sam Altman, head of OpenAI, indicated on X that his company would commit to one of Amodei's proposals, adding that the subject has been "at the heart of discussions" internally in recent weeks. Elon Musk, for his part, summarized his agreement in three words: "Dario is right."
The Canadian press also recalls the commercial context: Anthropic and OpenAI are preparing a possible initial public offering that could value each at hundreds of billions of dollars, while a significant part of SpaceX's activities, owned by Musk, relate to AI. It also notes that some critics have, in the past, dismissed this type of alert as a way to generate enthusiasm around the sector. Anthropic had, meanwhile, announced two days earlier that it had blocked malicious actors attempting to use its models for cyberattacks, surveillance, or research that could lead to biological weapons.
