A brief history of AI executives calling for regulation

<figure> <img alt="H.A.L.-style glowing red digital eye over a textured digital backdrop." data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/STK_414_5_D.png?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="has-drop-cap wp-block-paragraph">Over the past few days, a lot of people who stand to make a lot of money from AI all <a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/995141/ai-executives-politicians-safety-regulation-anthropic-dario-amodei">publicly agreed</a> that it's time to make everyone slow down before we lose control - including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Google DeepMind cofounder Demis Hassabis, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and X CEO Elon Musk.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">When people who profit from something declare that it's dangerous and needs to be regulated, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/995186/is-big-techs-ai-slowdown-a-safety-pact-or-a-cartel">there's always reason to be skeptical</a>. But whatever their reason, this is far from the first time AI thought leaders have sounded the alarm. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Charles Darwin's theory of evolution prompted author Samuel Butler to warn about intelligen …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/policy/995534/a-brief-history-of-ai-executives-calling-for-regulation">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>