Key facts
- Leading AI figures Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, and Elon Musk have called for a slowdown in AI development.
- Dario Amodei warned that rapid AI development could be reckless and potentially cause significant damage.
- AI-linked stocks in Asia experienced a slump, with South Korea's KOSPI index down 3.7%.
- Chipmaker SK Hynix shares fell 5.75%, and SoftBank dropped 13% in Tokyo.
- US chip stocks Intel and Micron were down 5.9% and 5.5% respectively in pre-market trading.
- SpaceX, owner of the Grok AI assistant, was down 2.1% in pre-market trading.
Investors are reassessing the value of companies at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution after several leading figures in the field urged a pause in development due to safety concerns. The calls, spearheaded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and supported by Elon Musk, have triggered a sell-off in AI-linked stocks.
In Asian markets, shares in AI-focused companies dropped, contributing to a 3.7% decline in South Korea’s KOSPI index. Chipmaker SK Hynix saw its shares fall by 5.75%. SoftBank, a significant investor in AI, experienced a 13% drop in its Tokyo-listed shares after Altman stated that OpenAI would not go public this year. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company also fell by 1.2% in Taipei.
US stocks exposed to the AI boom are expected to follow suit. In pre-market trading, Intel was down 5.9% and Micron was on track for a 5.5% fall. SpaceX, the owner of the Grok AI assistant, was down 2.1% in pre-market trading.
Dario Amodei stated that building AI too quickly is "reckless" and warned of potential future damage from AI agents. While some experts dispute these claims, investors are factoring in a potential slowdown in AI development, which could impact the industry's ability to fund its rapid expansion of data centers. Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, noted a "sour mood in the markets this morning," highlighting that a slowdown could introduce credit risk for highly leveraged data-center operators and lenders if projected compute demand and revenue growth falter.