Dario Amodei Urges Slower AI Capability Growth as Anthropic Opens Systems to Third-Party Evaluators
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is calling on the artificial intelligence industry to deliberately slow the pace at which model capabilities advance. In an essay titled We Must Pace the Frontier, published on September 12, 2026, Amodei argued that the industry should take deliberate steps to reduce the speed of capability improvement.
“We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models,” Amodei wrote. He added that progress will still seem fast.
Anthropic's Unilateral Commitment
Alongside the essay, Amodei announced on his X account that Anthropic is unilaterally committing to give third-party evaluators permanent, employee-level access to its systems.
The commitment means external evaluators would have ongoing access at the same level as Anthropic employees, rather than limited or temporary review arrangements.
What the Essay Argues
Amodei’s essay makes the case that the AI industry must intentionally reduce the speed of model capability improvement. The argument centers on pacing the frontier of AI development rather than allowing capability gains to proceed at their current rate.
In his statement, Amodei acknowledged that even with a deliberate slowdown, progress will still appear rapid.
Key Points at a Glance
- Essay: We Must Pace the Frontier, published September 12, 2026.
- Author: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.
- Core argument: The AI industry must deliberately slow the pace of model capability improvement.
- Announcement: Made on Amodei’s X account.
- Commitment: Anthropic will unilaterally give third-party evaluators permanent, employee-level access to its systems.
