China’s state-backed Global Times has criticized Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s proposal to slow the development of advanced artificial intelligence, arguing that the initiative reflects a U.S. “Cold War playbook” aimed at restricting China’s AI ambitions.
Amodei published an essay on Saturday proposing a framework to pace frontier AI development, giving governments and technology companies more time to address growing AI safety risks. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX founder Elon Musk later endorsed the broader push.
However, Amodei also called for tighter U.S. chip export controls targeting China and stronger action against alleged model distillation by Chinese AI laboratories. Speaking to CBS News on Sunday, he said the “toughest dilemma” would arise if China and other U.S. adversaries refused to slow their own AI development.
The Global Times argued that these proposals reveal a broader effort to constrain China through technological restrictions and regulatory barriers while preserving Washington’s dominance in advanced technology.
Calling the approach a “silent AI Cold War,” the newspaper warned that excluding China from global AI governance and innovation could increase develo...