Artificial Intelligence
oi-Prakash KL
Former US President Barack Obama has backed calls for a slowdown in artificial intelligence development, saying decisions being made now could determine whether AI delivers major advances or causes widespread disruption.
Obama said he was “encouraged” by growing calls from some of the industry’s biggest names for greater caution, but stressed that the debate should not be left solely to technology companies.
Former US President Barack Obama backed slowing AI development on September 14, stating current choices will determine if AI brings major advances or widespread disruption, emphasizing society’s role in guiding the technology.
“Whether this technology results in amazing breakthroughs in medicine, energy and education or unleashes huge economic disruptions, greater inequality, and potential catastrophe will depend on the choices that we make right now,” Obama said in a social media post on September 14.
He added that those choices should be made by society as a whole, rather than only by companies developing AI systems.
Obama’s comments came after the debate over the pace of AI development intensified over the weekend. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay warning that the industry may be moving faster than safeguards can keep up.
Amodei called for companies to “slow the pace” of AI development so that efforts to prevent potential risks have enough time to catch up. His comments were subsequently backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI founder Elon Musk.
While outlining the potential benefits of AI, Amodei also raised concerns about possible cyberattacks, bioterrorism and economic disruption. He argued that the rapid progress of the technology requires greater caution.
Former AI researcher Jacob Coxon, who left Anthropic on September 8 after previously working at OpenAI, also attracted attention with a warning about the concerns held by some people working inside the industry. He said AI researchers seriously believe the technology could pose an existential threat within the decade.
Obama described slowing the pace of AI development as a “good and necessary first step”. But he said the bigger development was the growing recognition that the future of AI needs to become part of a wider public debate.
The former president has increasingly spoken about AI regulation and its political implications. He recently urged Democrats to make AI oversight a priority at a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser.
His latest comments also came as the issue is becoming increasingly political in the US, with lawmakers facing pressure over AI regulation, job disruption and the growing number of data centres being built to support the technology.
Obama’s position puts him at odds with President Donald Trump, who has strongly backed rapid AI development and argued that the US needs to stay ahead of China.
Trump dismissed calls for AI guardrails in social media posts on September 14, arguing that the technology needs a strong president rather than additional controls. He also described warnings about AI potentially destroying the world as a Democratic “hoax”.
Obama sought to distance himself from both extremes of the debate.
“I am not an AI accelerationist who believes it will lead to some techno-utopia, and I’m not a doomer who thinks it will inevitably lead to humanity’s destruction,” he said.
He added that he had followed AI’s development for more than a decade and believed its potential impact was significant.
“It’s also moving at lightning speed – and even faster than those who are engineering it can keep up with,” Obama said.
The divide is also emerging in Washington. Some Democratic lawmakers are calling for Congress to introduce stronger rules for the AI industry, while House Speaker Mike Johnson and Vice President JD Vance have expressed reservations about calls for government intervention.
Vance said on September 14 that he was uneasy about major AI companies themselves asking the government to regulate the industry.
“I think we have to be careful about this,” Vance said, describing the industry’s push for regulation as potentially resembling a “Trojan Horse.”
