“I don’t think that we need some kind of industrywide coordination,” Zuckerberg said in an interview with NBC News. He argued that each AI lab should assess potential risks internally and take the time needed to ensure its systems are being developed safely, Anadolu Agency reported.
His comments come as several prominent figures in the AI industry have called for greater coordination over the pace of development amid growing concerns about the risks posed by increasingly capable systems.
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Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently urged AI companies to work together to “pace the frontier” of development. His call received support from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis and xAI founder Elon Musk.
Zuckerberg said individual AI companies could instead slow or pause their own development if they identify safety concerns, rather than agreeing to an industrywide approach.
He also pointed to consumer demand as a commercial incentive for companies to ensure their AI products are safe and useful.
“I happen to think that there’s plenty of commercial incentive to get this right,” he said.
Zuckerberg said AI developers should focus on ensuring systems understand users’ intentions and handle personal information appropriately, rather than concentrating primarily on catastrophic scenarios.
“There’s a lot of rhetoric that is filled with doom,” Zuckerberg said. “I’m quite optimistic about the fact that this is going to be a very positive future for everyone.”
The debate over the pace of AI development has intensified as researchers and industry leaders raise concerns about increasingly capable systems.
Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned in early September, warning about the risks associated with increasingly powerful AI systems and criticizing the safety approaches of leading developers.
Meta is also facing scrutiny over the potential harms of its social media platforms to young users. Last month, the company agreed to pay about $18 billion to settle claims brought by dozens of US state attorneys general alleging that it misled consumers about risks to children and teenagers.
The lawsuit alleged that Meta designed its platforms to be addictive to young users and misled consumers about associated risks. Under the agreement, Meta would also introduce a daily usage limit for teen users, strengthen age-assurance measures and provide additional tools for parents and guardians, according to the company.
