Mark Zuckerberg blasts centralisation of AI power

• Mark Zuckerberg criticised AI startups for centralising AI power, warning it could limit broad access and stifle innovation in technology development.
• Leading AI firms debate whether AI development should be open or tightly controlled, with companies like Meta and Google advocating openness against stricter controls by Anthropic and OpenAI.
• Top AI researchers from major tech firms signed a letter urging international cooperation to slow AI progress for safety, amid growing concerns about competition and regulation globally.

SAN FRANCISCO – Mark Zuckerberg came out swinging against Anthropic and OpenAI, two of the world’s most valuable artificial intelligence start-ups, saying the way they developed AI software could lead to a centralisation of power that would narrow people’s access to the transformational technology.

In an interview on July 28, the 42-year-old chief executive of Meta did not call out Anthropic and OpenAI by name. But he said that if leading research labs wanted to develop AI technology in a tightly controlled manner – as Anthropic and OpenAI have done – it would be akin to “abandoning our values” in American tech development and stifle innovation.