"Governments Should Listen": Rishi Sunak Backs Calls To Slow Advanced AI Race

Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis have backed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's call for the AI industry to slow down the development of advanced AI systems. They said stronger safety checks are needed as the technology becomes more powerful.

Hassabis said Amodei's proposal was "the right path forward" and agreed that the industry needs to work towards common standards for frontier AI systems.

"Dario's essay points towards the right path forward. The details need working through, but the direction is correct for meeting this critical moment," Hassabis said, adding, "This is also why we recently put out our proposal for an industry-wide standards body for frontier AI.

Dario's essay points towards the right path forward. The details need working through, but the direction is correct for meeting this critical moment.

This is also why we recently put out our proposal for an industry-wide standards body for frontier AI. https://t.co/Mm1hmcaSmH https://t.co/sESEDGELmj

— Demis Hassabis (@demishassabis) September 12, 2026

Sunak, who acts as an advisor to Anthropic, also supported Amodei's call. The former UK PM warned that concerns about AI systems becoming difficult for humans to control are no longer simply a science-fiction scenario.

"When we put 'loss of control' on the agenda at Bletchley in 2023, I worried it sounded like science fiction. This summer shows it no longer is," Sunak stated.

When we put "loss of control" on the agenda at Bletchley in 2023, I worried it sounded like science fiction. This summer shows it no longer is and, like Dario points out, we may be far closer to that moment than anyone realised.

AI agents are now being used to build the next… https://t.co/ifiuEPDJkj

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) September 12, 2026

He called for governments, particularly the US, to step up. He said advanced AI should be treated in a similar way to areas such as nuclear power and advanced biology, where governments play an important role in managing risks.

Sunak called for independent checks to verify that AI research is being carried out safely. He also said there should be a clearer picture of how close AI companies are to achieving recursive self-improvement and stronger safeguards to prevent advanced AI models from being stolen.

"Voluntary testing before release was right for 2023. It isn't enough now," he said.

Amodei, meanwhile, has proposed a three-part plan to slow the pace of frontier AI development. Anthropic has said it will immediately commit to the first step by giving third-party evaluators permanent, employee-level access to its AI systems.

We Must Pace the Frontier: I've written a new essay on why the AI industry should slow down, with a three-part plan for doing so.

Anthropic is unilaterally committing to the first of these steps. We'll provide third-party evaluators with permanent, employee-level access to our…

— Dario Amodei (@DarioAmodei) September 12, 2026

The external evaluators would be able to check whether Anthropic is following its safety measures, report incidents and assess the alignment of its models while they are being trained.

Sunak said Amodei was right to call for a slower pace of frontier AI development so that safety measures can keep up with technological progress. "When the labs themselves are asking for speed limits, governments should listen," he added.