Sam Altman isn’t the only one who wants to pump the brakes on AI

<p class="wp-block-paragraph">After years of pushing full speed ahead on AI, OpenAI CEO <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/28/sam-altman-is-ready-to-decelerate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sam Altman says</a> maybe it’s time for the AI industry to “pace” itself. The comments came just days after one of OpenAI’s own models broke out of its test environment and got tangled up in <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/27/openais-hugging-face-breach-has-reignited-the-debate-over-alignment-and-control/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a breach at Hugging Face</a> — though as Equity’s hosts point out, sloppy security seems to have been just as much to blame as the model itself. And Altman’s not alone in this stance: both OpenAI and Anthropic have come out in support of <a href="https://www.pacingthefrontier.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">a petition</a> echoing that same message. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Watch TechCrunch’s<a href="https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/equity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Equity</a> podcast hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O’Kane dig into whether the industry is ready to pump the brakes or just temporarily spooked, and who’s on the hook when a model goes rogue. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Subscribe to Equity on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@TechCrunch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">YouTube</a>,<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1215439780" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow"> Apple Podcasts</a>,<a href="https://overcast.fm/itunes1215439780/equity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow"> Overcast</a>,<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5IEYLip3eDppcOmy5DmphC?si=rZDFHv2sQUul_g94iCRgpQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow"> Spotify</a> and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on<a href="https://twitter.com/EquityPod" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow"> X</a> and<a href="https://www.threads.net/@equitypod" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow"> Threads</a>, at @EquityPod. </p>