1,100+ employees across OpenAI, Google, Meta and Anthropic urge slower AI development

More than 1,100 employees from some of the world's largest artificial intelligence companies have called on the US government to support international efforts to deliberately slow the development of the most advanced AI systems, according to Bloomberg.

The petition, signed by employees at OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta, urges policymakers to prioritise global governance frameworks and technical safeguards for frontier AI. The signatories warn that advances in AI capabilities are accelerating faster than the systems needed to ensure the technology remains safe and accountable.

Petition seeks international AI safeguards

According to Bloomberg, the employees are asking Washington to work with international partners to establish technical standards and governance mechanisms that would intentionally moderate the pace of frontier AI development.

The petition states:

"We request that the US government support an international effort to develop the technical and governance tools needed to deliberately pace the frontier of automated AI development."

The initiative reflects growing concern among AI researchers and employees that governance is failing to keep pace with increasingly capable AI models.

Workers warn AI could outpace human control

The letter warns that future AI systems could develop beyond humanity's ability to effectively oversee them.

According to the petition, there is "a real risk" that future AI systems could exceed humanity's ability to "understand or control" them.

The concerns come as frontier AI models become increasingly capable and autonomous, prompting renewed debate over how governments and industry should manage future development.

Race to build advanced AI intensifies

The appeal arrives during a period of intense competition across the AI sector.

Major technology companies and AI start-ups continue to invest billions of dollars in developing more powerful models, creating strong commercial incentives to accelerate product releases and expand AI capabilities.

According to Bloomberg, the pace of innovation has complicated efforts to introduce stronger oversight, with governments often struggling to keep up with technological advances.

The petition highlights a growing divide within the industry between rapid product development and calls for stronger safety measures.

Employees call for governance alongside innovation

While AI companies continue developing increasingly sophisticated systems, many researchers and employees believe governance should evolve alongside technical progress rather than after it.

The petition reflects concerns extending beyond model performance to wider societal issues, including:

• AI safety and accountability
• International governance standards
• Environmental impact
• Copyright disputes over training data
• The effect of AI on employment

Calls for stronger AI regulation have grown steadily over the past several years as the technology has become central to business strategy and attracted significant investment.

Policy response remains uncertain

According to Bloomberg, translating the petition into policy would require sustained engagement from governments as well as international cooperation, both of which remain challenging in the current geopolitical environment.

The report noted that the US has taken an uneven approach to AI regulation, while broader international coordination continues to prove difficult.

Recent testing of increasingly autonomous AI agents, alongside high-profile security incidents involving advanced systems, has added fresh urgency to discussions around governance and oversight.

Whether the petition results in regulatory action remains uncertain. Even so, the growing number of employees publicly supporting a slower, more carefully governed approach to frontier AI development suggests concerns over the technology's trajectory are increasingly being voiced from within the industry's own workforce rather than solely by external critics.