AI Now Institute: companies under pressure from the AI race cut safety investment first
AI Now Institute: companies invest billions in scaling AI models, but safety protocols are the first thing they cut — out of fear that if they do not build, the competition will.
Sarah Myers West, co-director of AI Now Institute, said that companies developing AI invest billions of dollars in building increasingly large models, but meaningful investment in basic safety protocols is the first thing they cut. According to her, the approach these companies take is based on the premise that AI is “safe only in their hands” and that if they do not build the technology, someone else will — she says this paranoia drives a race to the bottom (race to the bottom) in AI safety.
These recent remarks follow earlier criticism by Aya Ibrahim, a senior visiting fellow at AI Now Institute, who pointed out that calls by technology leaders to slow AI development raise questions about their ability and willingness to actually control the technology. Ibrahim told Al Jazeera that these warnings come at a time when companies face enormous financial pressure to develop increasingly powerful AI systems, and questioned the framing of AI development as a race, because she believes this narrative motivates companies to develop as quickly as possible at the expense of considering the consequences.
You can find the remaining details about both sets of remarks in the source articles.
Why it matters
The criticism suggests that large AI companies face systemic pressure to prioritize the speed and scale of development over investment in safety, which is relevant to anyone assessing the trustworthiness and risks of commercial AI systems — this is not an isolated problem at one company, but a consequence of the competitive environment as a whole.
What was added since the original report
Verified updates
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Safety protocols are the first thing cut from company budgets; Companies are motivated by paranoia that if they do not build, others will (the 'only safe in their hands' narrative); Billions in investment go specifically into scaling models, while safety is neglected
- Safety protocols are the first thing cut from company budgets
- Companies are motivated by paranoia that if they do not build, others will (the 'only safe in their hands' narrative)
- Billions in investment go specifically into scaling models, while safety is neglected
Relevant practical impact
What this means
For a business
According to AI Now Institute, companies developing AI under competitive pressure cut safety protocols as the first budget item, which is a relevant risk when selecting and evaluating AI suppliers.
Risks and complianceCheck the original
Event sources
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