Leaders in artificial intelligence called for slowing down the development of advanced systems, a move that dragged global chip stocks lower and added pressure to already volatile markets. The push for a development slowdown followed the release of a manifesto signed by executives from major AI companies and coincided with rising oil prices, which further weighed on investor confidence across the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Corporate calls for caution
The corporate push for caution gained momentum after the publication of a 3,800-word manifesto by Anthropic PBC CEO Dario Amodei. The document, backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceXAI head Elon Musk, argued that the creation of the most advanced systems requires a deliberate pace to avoid catastrophic risks. Microsoft added to this momentum by releasing its own 15,000-word document outlining limits for cutting-edge models, with the company stating that “people matter more than AI.”
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Microsoft’s AI team, responsible for developing large language models, detailed specific guardrails in the Humanistic AI Code of Conduct. The code asserts that models should not possess legal rights or a juridical personality. It also prohibits systems from being designed to escape human control or to deceive users. The document mandates that a model must refuse a task if complying would violate its core ethical principles. Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman clarified that this does not represent an absolute pause but rather a shift toward more cautious development.
Analysts at Bank of America noted that while these industry leaders are not calling for a complete stop, their emphasis on safety is expected to naturally moderate the pace of innovation. Microsoft previously had restrictions preventing it from building its own powerful general-purpose AI tools, but those terms were removed during a relationship renegotiation last year. Suleyman indicated the company plans to join the group of firms launching next-generation models next year, even as it adheres to the new ethical framework under development with legal, ethical, and philosophical experts.
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Political friction over regulation
The push for regulation has met with sharp political resistance from the Trump administration. President Donald Trump attacked Amodei on social media, rejecting warnings about safety risks and attributing public backlash against data centers to a “conspiracy.” Trump argued that restrictions on U.S. firms would only benefit China, a stance that contradicts the administration’s agenda of promoting rapid AI adoption and infrastructure without heavy regulatory intervention.
This friction occurs just days before a bilateral summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 24, where technological governance is expected to be a central topic. The Chinese government has criticized the statements from U.S. executives, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun accusing them of alarmism and confrontation, which he said disturbs the global process of AI governance.
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