Musk urges top AI labs, Chinese companies to test each other's models amid calls for slowdown

Elon Musk called for the top artificial intelligence companies to work together and test each other's models before they're released to the public, as some of the industry's leaders warn of the technology's dangers and push for greater government regulation.

Speaking at the All-in Summit in Los Angeles on Monday, the SpaceX CEO said his company, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta and "three or four of the leading Chinese companies" should let rivals run a "test harness" on their models to evaluate their safety.

"So, you know, instead of grading your own homework, you would at least have competitors grading your homework and raising the alarm if they see concerns," Musk said.

The debate around how to regulate AI has intensified after the leaders of Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI companies spent the weekend warning about the technology's harms and called for a slowdown in model development. Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman were among the tech leaders who backed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's proposal for a slowdown, marking a rare show of unity.

The push from top AI leaders came amid a broader warning about the fate of humanity as AI researchers sounded the alarm last week, sparked by a post from Jacob Coxon, who announced that he quit his job at Anthropic.

Coxon, who also worked at OpenAI, wrote that the leading AI labs are "gambling with our lives." Researchers quickly chimed in, with Evan Hubinger, an alignment lead at Anthropic, also backing Coxon's statements.

"Jacob is correct here—we really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans! I personally think it is >10% within the next decade," Hubinger wrote.

The Trump administration has pushed back on tech leaders' calls for greater limits on AI. President Donald Trump pushed out a flurry of posts on Truth Social on Monday, referring to fears over AI as a "hoax" and a "scam."

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Tuesday that the private sector is the "right place" to address concerns with AI. He said the government continues to monitor the industry and will use "law enforcement when necessary to make sure that the firms are acting responsibly."

Musk said Monday that his peer-review method may not be a perfect solution, but he added, "The odds that you will find issues are dramatically greater."

Musk acknowledged that rival AI labs that compete with SpaceXAI, which is owned by SpaceX, haven't agreed to his proposal. Amodei, in his essay, suggested that AI labs could agree to third-party technology assessments from "embedded evaluators" who would verify safety practices.

Trump has suggested that any attempts to pace the development of AI would give China the upper hand in developing the technology. Amodei echoed those concerns over the weekend, calling it the "toughest dilemma."

A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry on Monday called AI companies' push for a slowdown "fear mongering," according to an English translation of their remarks published by Reuters.

"What I'm suggesting here is it's a step in the right direction and it's something that we do quickly," Musk said. "I think it's probably something that China would agree to."