We Want to Slow AI Down. Can It Work?

Can we slow AI development down while everyone is still trying to win the race?

In this episode of Mere Mortals Book Reviews, I'm reviewing an article: “We Must Pace the Frontier” by Dario Amodei.

I unpack the proposals for embedded evaluators, coordination between AI companies and international cooperation. Then I share where I'm supportive, where I'm sceptical, and why reading Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s Antifragile has me questioning the comparison between AI safety and aviation.

We also explore recursive self-improvement, the tension between global cooperation and US–China competition, and whether today's AI capabilities already give us enough to work with.

This is my personal reading and critique of the article. Read it yourself and tell me where you agree or disagree.

READ THE ARTICLE

https://darioamodei.com/post/we-must-pace-the-frontier

CHAPTERS

00:00 An article review with big implications

00:32 The controversy behind the conversation

02:25 What does “pacing the frontier” mean?

03:36 Embedded evaluators: independent eyes inside AI labs