AI Development "Pace Adjustment" Debate Triggers Sharp Fall in Related Stocks; U.S. PCAST Co-Chair Criticizes Use for Regulation

In the Japanese market, shares of SoftBank, an investor in ChatGPT developer OpenAI, temporarily plummeted by 13.2%. Additionally, memory semiconductor manufacturer Kioxia saw a temporary decline of 9.8%, and shares of other major companies fell across the board, including Tokyo Electron (3.7% decrease), TSMC (1.2% decrease), SK Hynix (5.3% decrease), and Samsung (3.7% decrease).

This movement was triggered by an essay published by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, in which he wrote that AI agents could potentially take control of the entire internet and cause hundreds of billions of dollars in damages. In response, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX AI CEO Elon Musk also expressed agreement via social media.

Regarding these developments, David Sacks, Co-Chair of the U.S. President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), expressed concern in a post on X on September 12. While pointing out the current situation where Anthropic and OpenAI hold a market oligopoly, Sacks argued that if a slowdown in development is to be considered, it should not be used as a condition for demanding regulatory frameworks. He criticized the act of seeking regulation on the grounds of product liability risks from cyberattacks as "acting as if permission from others is required."