China rejects calls for ‘pacing’ on AI development, fearing it would entrench US tech lead

Chinese researchers say a slowdown would protect established US incumbents while freezing latecomers out of the market

Calls by US tech leaders for a voluntary slowdown in artificial intelligence development have run into sharp pushback from Chinese researchers and state media, who question whether the proposal is a genuine push for responsibility or an effort to entrench America’s technological lead.

The debate intensified on Monday when OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joined a growing chorus of Silicon Valley leaders demanding industry-wide “pacing”, warning that competitive pressure must not override safety as AI advanced rapidly.

“The world deserves confidence that American companies developing increasingly capable AI will act responsibly, especially as the trajectory of progress has steepened,” Altman wrote on social media platform X.

“Every frontier lab must deliver on this, and there is no reason any of us should come to work if we cannot.”