OpenAI Confirms It's Working With Rivals Anthropic And Google DeepMind On AI Safety

OpenAI's Chris Lehane confirmed the company has been coordinating on AI safety with Anthropic and Google DeepMind after Dario Amodei's essay calling for slower AI development.

OpenAI’s global policy chief Chris Lehane has confirmed the company has spent several weeks coordinating on AI safety with its two biggest competitors, Anthropic and Google DeepMind, telling reporters in Washington that the three firms don’t need special antitrust permission to work together on this.

Speaking at a Tuesday briefing in Washington, first reported by Bloomberg, Lehane said the safety coordination between the three labs has been ongoing for weeks. Asked about potential antitrust concerns around competitors comparing notes, he brushed them off, saying it’s simply better for companies to work together when the goal is prioritizing safety. He pointed to the airline industry as a precedent, noting that companies have coordinated on safety matters across different sectors for a long time without it being controversial.