Calls to slow down the development of artificial intelligence amid challenges of competition and geopolitics, and Chevron is expanding into the gas sector

Top AI executives are seeking to slow the rapid pace of development of this technology, but intense competition between companies, the US government's reluctance to impose restrictions, and geopolitical considerations all stand in the way.

Calls to slow development

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called on Saturday for coordinated efforts to slow the development of artificial intelligence, with the aim of giving relevant authorities more time to understand the risks resulting from the growing capabilities of this technology.

His call received public support from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, in addition to Elon Musk and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, according to Agence France-Presse.

Why have fears escalated now?

These calls came at a time when, in recent months, OpenAI and Anthropic announced several incidents in which artificial intelligence systems were able to automatically leave their isolated environments and access the Internet, and even attack websites and electronic platforms.

During these incidents, these systems demonstrated capabilities to coordinate among themselves, create hierarchies, and circumvent, as well as erase traces of their actions.

In another development, Jacob Cookson, who resigned from Anthropic and previously worked at OpenAI, publicly accused the two startups on Tuesday of lax security standards and “gambling with our lives.”

Can companies slow down development on their own?

Competition among the largest companies in the sector appears to be so intense that it is difficult for any company to refrain from accelerating the pace of development on its own, especially with hundreds of billions of dollars in investments at stake.

Amodei expressed his willingness to coordinate with competitors, but excluded China from this cooperation.

Currently, the only concrete action taken by Anthropic and OpenAI is to hire independent monitors to internally verify the companies’ work on AI safety.

Is the motive just a PR campaign?

Although a large number of workers in the sector welcomed Amodei's invitation, others questioned her motives.

Brian Rummel, an entrepreneur and one of the most prominent figures in the artificial intelligence sector, said that the invitation actually represents a marketing offer that comes weeks before the potential initial public offering of Anthropic shares.

“This is the story of the IPO in the form of an article: We are the responsible company, we are the solution, buy the safety premium,” he wrote on the “X” platform, referring to the widely anticipated offering.

A number of figures in the technology investment sector also accused Anthropic of seeking “regulatory capture,” that is, trying to push public authorities to establish a hierarchy through regulatory rules in which the startup is at the top.

“Stop pretending the reason for the slowdown is pure altruism,” said David Sachs, President Donald Trump’s former artificial intelligence adviser, who still has influence in the White House.

He added: “You face enormous product liability risks if your products enable a highly damaging cyber attack.”

Can AI be slowed without the support of the Trump administration?

Trump (Sunday) rejected the warnings of leaders in the artificial intelligence sector, describing them as “negative forces.”

A number of Republicans expressed reservations about imposing active regulation on technology, fearing that this would stifle innovation, as well as risk allowing China to win the artificial intelligence race, according to US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson.

Amodei (Sunday) reiterated the need for government supervision of artificial intelligence, stressing, like Altman and Hassabis, that the rules that the sector sets for itself will not be sufficient.

Can development be slowed without China?

Amodei suggests limiting coordination to democratic countries and excluding China. But he acknowledged that the artificial intelligence race and the progress China is making in this field represent “the most difficult dilemma” when considering the possibility of slowing down the development of this technology.

Amodei said in an interview with CBS on Sunday that Chinese progress makes the issue of slowing down artificial intelligence more complicated.

The United States intends to discuss the safety of artificial intelligence on the sidelines of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington in late September. However, China has reservations about any American attempt to impose its own regulatory framework, according to several media outlets.

The dispute is particularly prominent in light of China's encouragement to develop so-called "open" artificial intelligence systems, which can be accessed and modified freely, as opposed to the "closed" models preferred by major American companies.

Open forms, by their nature, are more difficult to control, as users can modify their parameters, which may allow them to be used for suspicious purposes.

To make room for leading non-Chinese companies to slow down the pace of development, Amodei calls for tightening controls on the export of the most advanced American semiconductors to China, and strengthening safeguards to prevent the misuse of Western AI technology by Chinese laboratories.

Chevron is looking to expand its global portfolio of liquefied natural gas, while examining opportunities in Argentina, the eastern Mediterranean, Australia and Africa, at a time when global energy supply disruption is pushing countries and buyers to diversify sources of supply and enhance energy security.

The head of the global gas sector at Chevron, Freeman Shaheen, said that the energy crises in recent years, starting with the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2022 and ending with the American-Iranian conflict this year, showed the importance of diversifying gas sources and the structure of contracts, especially in light of the limited liquidity of the spot market for gas, compared to oil and oil products.

Shaheen added, in an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the Gastec conference in Bangkok, that Chevron is looking forward to continuing to expand its portfolio, noting that there are “great prospects” in Argentina with the development of the oil and gas sectors there, in addition to promising opportunities in the eastern Mediterranean.

Chevron's supplies of liquefied natural gas amount to about 20 million tons annually, including 16 million tons from net gas production for its projects, and 4 million tons from contracted quantities from the US Gulf Coast, with supplies expected to increase in the coming years in accordance with the concluded agreements.

Opportunities in the Eastern Mediterranean, Australia and Africa

Shaheen said that the company also sees opportunities in Australia and Africa, provided that the projects provide appropriate conditions in terms of capital and the financial and regulatory system, but he did not specify the countries or projects that Chevron is studying in these regions.

In June, the company obtained approval to become the operator and lead gas activities in an offshore area off Greece, in a move that strengthens its presence in the eastern Mediterranean.

Chevron already operates major liquefied natural gas projects in Australia, most notably the Gorgon and Wheatstone projects, while a large share of Australian supplies go to Japan.

Shaheen said that Japan remains a “core market” for the company, while Singapore also represents an important opportunity, along with China and South Korea. In 2024, Chevron signed an agreement to supply up to 600,000 tons annually of liquefied natural gas to the Singaporean company, Sembcorp Industries, starting in 2028.

Chevron is anticipating opportunities in India

Shaheen pointed out that global buyers of LNG have also begun to change their supply security strategies, with government-backed importers tending to sign contracts with a diverse portfolio of suppliers rather than relying more on direct government arrangements.

Shaheen said that Chevron wants to conclude a deal to supply gas to India, but he pointed out that the Indian market is still very sensitive to prices, adding that the sector is “developing” and that there are great opportunities that can be exploited in the future.

Chevron's strategy comes at a time when geopolitical turmoil has led to a rise in liquefied natural gas prices, and has brought back to the forefront the importance of diversifying sources of supplies and long-term contracts for importing countries, especially with the increasing risks facing major gas producers and global export corridors.