Anthropic investor Lonsdale says AI firms stoking fear to sway policy

Joe Lonsdale, an investor in AI firm Anthropic and co-founder of technology company Palantir, stated on Friday that leading artificial intelligence companies are using warnings of existential risks to manipulate public policy and create an oligopoly. Speaking at the Reuters Momentum AI Austin event, Lonsdale criticized what he described as efforts by OpenAI and Anthropic to fund outside groups advocating for stronger AI regulation. He argued that such actions could allow a small number of leading companies to shape the rules governing the industry and entrench their market power.

Lonsdale acknowledged that AI safety is a genuine concern but cautioned against responding to fear with regulation. He noted that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Elon Musk have all recently called for a slowdown in the development of advanced AI models due to potential existential risks.

Despite his criticism of the policy influence tactics, Lonsdale expressed admiration for Anthropic, calling it the "highest-performing company in the world over the last few years" and stating he is proud to be a small investor in the company.