<p>Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has entered the growing debate over how quickly artificial intelligence should advance, saying any pursuit of superintelligence must ultimately help humanity and remain under human control.</p><p>Nadella's comments come days after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for the AI industry to “pace the frontier” and give safety work more time to keep up with rapidly improving models. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk have also backed parts of Amodei's proposal.<br>The Microsoft chief's message adds a different dimension to the debate: AI safety should not mean putting control of the technology in the hands of only a few companies.</p><h2><br>Nadella's condition for superintelligence</h2><p>Nadella said the development of superintelligence should be based on a simple principle: if AI does not help humanity and cannot remain under human control, it is not worth pursuing. He also argued that the benefits of advanced AI should spread across countries, communities and companies.<br>That means, in his view, the future AI ecosystem should include both closed and open-source models, rather than being controlled by a small number of frontier labs.</p><h2><br>Why Nadella wants ‘deliberate pacing’</h2><p>Nadella said Microsoft supports research, focus and “deliberate pacing” so that alignment and safety are built into AI systems as they become more capable. He also welcomed the idea of embedded evaluators independent experts who can examine whether companies are actually following their safety commitments. That idea comes directly from Amodei's recent proposal. Anthropic has committed to giving third-party evaluators ongoing, employee-like access to its systems. Altman has said OpenAI will adopt a similar approach.</p><p>But Nadella also stressed another issue that matters to businesses.<br>He wants organisations to retain control of their own knowledge and AI learning processes instead of becoming permanently dependent on one model provider.</p><p>Companies, he argued, should be able to put their own knowledge into models and control the resulting systems.</p><h2>Microsoft promises a new AI ‘Code of Conduct’</h2><p>Nadella said Microsoft's first-party MAI models will also have a “Code of Conduct”, which the company plans to publish for public consultation. His comments come as the AI industry faces a rare moment of agreement over the need for stronger safeguards.</p><p>Amodei has warned that rapidly improving AI could create serious risks, including loss of control, cyberattacks and biological misuse. His proposal calls for industry coordination and eventually international cooperation. Altman has backed the call to “pace the frontier”, while Musk simply responded to Amodei's proposal: “Dario is right.”</p><p>The debate is now shifting from whether AI should advance to a harder question: how fast should it advance, who should control it, and who gets to decide when a powerful AI system is safe enough to deploy? Nadella's answer is becoming clear: progress can continue, but human control cannot be the part that gets left behind.</p>

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has backed a more deliberate approach to advanced AI development, saying superintelligence must help humanity and remain under human control. He also wants broader access to AI while allowing businesses to retain control over their own models and knowledge.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has entered the growing debate over how quickly artificial intelligence should advance, saying any pursuit of superintelligence must ultimately help humanity and remain under human control. Nadella's comments come days after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for the AI industry to “pace the frontier” and give safety work more time to keep up with rapidly improving models. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk have also backed parts of Amodei's proposal. The Microsoft chief's message adds a different dimension to the debate: AI safety should not mean putting control of the technology in the hands of only a few companies. Nadella's condition for superintelligence Nadella said the development of superintelligence should be based on a simple principle: if AI does not help humanity and cannot remain under human control, it is not worth pursuing. He also argued that the benefits of advanced AI should spread across countries, communities and companies. That means, in his view, the future AI ecosystem should include both closed and open-source models, rather than being controlled by a small number of frontier labs. Why Nadella wants ‘deliberate pacing’ Nadella said Microsoft supports research, focus and “deliberate pacing” so that alignment and safety are built into AI systems as they become more capable. He also welcomed the idea of embedded evaluators independent experts who can examine whether companies are actually following their safety commitments. That idea comes directly from Amodei's recent proposal. Anthropic has committed to giving third-party evaluators ongoing, employee-like access to its systems. Altman has said OpenAI will adopt a similar approach. But Nadella also stressed another issue that matters to businesses. He wants organisations to retain control of their own knowledge and AI learning processes instead of becoming permanently dependent on one model provider. Companies, he argued, should be able to put their own knowledge into models and control the resulting systems. Microsoft promises a new AI ‘Code of Conduct’ Nadella said Microsoft's first-party MAI models will also have a “Code of Conduct”, which the company plans to publish for public consultation. His comments come as the AI industry faces a rare moment of agreement over the need for stronger safeguards. Amodei has warned that rapidly improving AI could create serious risks, including loss of control, cyberattacks and biological misuse. His proposal calls for industry coordination and eventually international cooperation. Altman has backed the call to “pace the frontier”, while Musk simply responded to Amodei's proposal: “Dario is right.” The debate is now shifting from whether AI should advance to a harder question: how fast should it advance, who should control it, and who gets to decide when a powerful AI system is safe enough to deploy? Nadella's answer is becoming clear: progress can continue, but human control cannot be the part that gets left behind.

<p>Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has backed a more deliberate approach to advanced AI development, saying superintelligence must help humanity and remain under human control. He also wants broader access to AI while allowing businesses to retain control over their own models and knowledge.</p>

‘AI must remain under human control’: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella backs slower development

<p>SoftBank shares plunged nearly 12% in Tokyo on Monday, as investors reacted to an unexpected new risk for one of the company's biggest bets: a possible slowdown in the race to build increasingly powerful AI.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The Japanese technology giant has committed $64.6 billion to OpenAI, giving it an expected stake of about 13%. Now, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has backed calls to slow the pace of frontier AI development and said OpenAI will not go public in 2026. That combination has made SoftBank one of the clearest stock-market proxies for investor confidence in the continued rapid expansion of OpenAI and the wider AI industry.</p><h2><strong>SoftBank shares fall sharply in Tokyo</strong></h2><p>SoftBank did not trade for the first 19 minutes of Monday's session as heavy selling pressure built up.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>When trading began, the shares opened at 5,926 yen, down 9.4% from Friday's close of 6,540 yen. They later fell as low as 5,720 yen before trading around 5,781 yen, down 11.6%. The fall was much steeper than declines in major Asian AI-related stocks. TSMC was down about 1%, while SK hynix fell around 6%. That gap matters. It suggests investors were not simply selling semiconductor stocks. They were also reassessing companies whose valuations depend heavily on the continued acceleration of frontier AI.</p><h2><strong>Why OpenAI matters so much to SoftBank</strong></h2><p>SoftBank announced in February that it would invest another $30 billion in OpenAI, taking its cumulative investment to $64.6 billion and its expected ownership to around 13%. The new investment was agreed at a $730 billion pre-money valuation.</p><p>The remaining investment is structured in three $10 billion tranches. SoftBank completed the first tranche in April, with the second scheduled for July and the third for October. The shares SoftBank receives are preferred shares that are designed to convert into common stock if OpenAI conducts an IPO or related listing. That makes Altman's latest IPO comments particularly important.</p><h2><strong>No OpenAI IPO this year</strong></h2><p>Altman said an OpenAI listing in 2026 would be “ill-advised” given the current focus on AI safety. He also backed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's call to “pace the frontier” of AI development. Amodei has proposed independent safety evaluators with ongoing access to frontier AI companies, along with greater coordination between governments and AI developers. Altman said OpenAI would adopt the independent-evaluator approach.</p><h2><strong>For SoftBank, the issue is therefore bigger than one bad trading session</strong></h2><p>The company is making an enormous investment in a private AI company while the industry's leaders are openly debating whether the technology should move more slowly. SoftBank's October payment to OpenAI is also approaching, with another $10 billion scheduled under the investment agreement. The market's message on Monday was simple: if the AI race slows, companies most exposed to its rapid expansion may have the most to lose.</p>

SoftBank shares plunged nearly 12% in Tokyo as investors reacted to calls to slow frontier AI development. The fall puts fresh focus on SoftBank’s $64.6 billion OpenAI investment, delayed IPO prospects and another $10 billion payment due in October.

SoftBank shares plunged nearly 12% in Tokyo on Monday, as investors reacted to an unexpected new risk for one of the company's biggest bets: a possible slowdown in the race to build increasingly powerful AI. The Japanese technology giant has committed $64.6 billion to OpenAI, giving it an expected stake of about 13%. Now, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has backed calls to slow the pace of frontier AI development and said OpenAI will not go public in 2026. That combination has made SoftBank one of the clearest stock-market proxies for investor confidence in the continued rapid expansion of OpenAI and the wider AI industry. SoftBank shares fall sharply in Tokyo SoftBank did not trade for the first 19 minutes of Monday's session as heavy selling pressure built up. When trading began, the shares opened at 5,926 yen, down 9.4% from Friday's close of 6,540 yen. They later fell as low as 5,720 yen before trading around 5,781 yen, down 11.6%. The fall was much steeper than declines in major Asian AI-related stocks. TSMC was down about 1%, while SK hynix fell around 6%. That gap matters. It suggests investors were not simply selling semiconductor stocks. They were also reassessing companies whose valuations depend heavily on the continued acceleration of frontier AI. Why OpenAI matters so much to SoftBank SoftBank announced in February that it would invest another $30 billion in OpenAI, taking its cumulative investment to $64.6 billion and its expected ownership to around 13%. The new investment was agreed at a $730 billion pre-money valuation. The remaining investment is structured in three $10 billion tranches. SoftBank completed the first tranche in April, with the second scheduled for July and the third for October. The shares SoftBank receives are preferred shares that are designed to convert into common stock if OpenAI conducts an IPO or related listing. That makes Altman's latest IPO comments particularly important. No OpenAI IPO this year Altman said an OpenAI listing in 2026 would be “ill-advised” given the current focus on AI safety. He also backed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's call to “pace the frontier” of AI development. Amodei has proposed independent safety evaluators with ongoing access to frontier AI companies, along with greater coordination between governments and AI developers. Altman said OpenAI would adopt the independent-evaluator approach. For SoftBank, the issue is therefore bigger than one bad trading session The company is making an enormous investment in a private AI company while the industry's leaders are openly debating whether the technology should move more slowly. SoftBank's October payment to OpenAI is also approaching, with another $10 billion scheduled under the investment agreement. The market's message on Monday was simple: if the AI race slows, companies most exposed to its rapid expansion may have the most to lose.

<p>SoftBank shares plunged nearly 12% in Tokyo as investors reacted to calls to slow frontier AI development. The fall puts fresh focus on SoftBank’s $64.6 billion OpenAI investment, delayed IPO prospects and another $10 billion payment due in October.</p>

SoftBank shares plunge nearly 12% as AI slowdown fears hit its $64.6 billion OpenAI bet

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‘AI must remain under human control’: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella backs slower development

SoftBank shares plunge as Sam Altman backs slower AI development