Voices to slow down AI development: Are they truly about 'safety'? A sharp remark from Michael Burry

Imagine you are the owner of a large restaurant franchise, and suddenly you meet with other competing restaurant owners and announce, “Let’s all limit ourselves to serving only 10 customers a day. It’s for the health of our customers!” At first, people might think, “What truly kind owners,” but what if the real intention is to create a long line by the time the restaurant closes, giving the impression that “our restaurant is that popular”?

A sharp observation has emerged that what is happening in the AI industry recently is just like this. Michael Burry, the real-life protagonist of the movie ‘The Big Short’ and a legendary investor who accurately predicted the housing market bubble during the 2008 financial crisis, has thrown harsh criticism at the leaders of prominent AI companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

Why does this matter?

We encounter articles about ‘AI safety’ every day. Statements like “AI is evolving too fast and is dangerous” or “We need to control the speed” sound like very sensible and public-interest arguments. However, if this argument is not about ‘safety’ but solely for the ‘wallets’ of the corporations, the story changes completely.

This is because if investors blindly believe the safety-emphasizing statements of AI companies, there is a risk of pouring money into bubbles much larger than the actual value the companies claim to hold. Michael Burry’s criticism reminds us why it is just as important to see through the ‘business strategies’ of the companies creating the technology as it is to study the AI technology itself.

Simply put: Safety slogans under the name of marketing

Through his social media account on X (formerly Twitter), Michael Burry criticized the ‘AI development slowdown’ claims of giants like OpenAI and Anthropic as highly ‘self-serving’ [Reference 4, Reference 8].

To use a metaphor, these companies are using a ‘marketing strategy wrapped in safety packaging.’ Their inner intentions can be analyzed in three ways.

1. Creating Scarcity: If they announce that they will slow down development, people think, “Wow, that company is truly responsible,” while simultaneously falling into the illusion that “the technology must be incredibly dangerously powerful.” It is a form of utilizing ‘technological mysticism.’
2. Keeping Latecomers in Check: If a company already leading the pack says, “Let’s all slow down for safety,” small firms or other competitors that have just started developing AI have no choice but to keep pace. It is a strategy to raise the barriers to entry for the market themselves and solidify their position as an ‘incumbent’ [Reference 12].
3. Generating Hype for IPOs: Just before a company goes public (IPO, Initial Public Offering), an enormous amount of ‘expectation’ is needed. Burry argues that the fear and anticipation these companies create while talking about safety are eventually just ‘puffery’ intended to inflate corporate value [Reference 10, Reference 12].

Where do we stand: The AI bubble theory and Michael Burry’s perspective

Michael Burry is also very skeptical about the substance of current AI technology. He cuts to the point, saying that the Large Language Models (LLMs—technology where AI learns from massive data to create sentences) we see today are by no means ‘true AI.’ Furthermore, he evaluates that it will be impossible for these technologies to reach ‘Artificial General Intelligence (AGI),’ which reaches the human level of intelligence [Reference 6].

Burry also believes that AI companies are deliberately stirring up anxiety to cover up the fact that ‘the growth of the industry as a whole is slowing down’ rather than proving their technological achievements [Reference 7]. It is an analysis that the attempt to pour massive amounts of money into situations where actual profits fall short of expectations is being covered up by the keyword ‘safety.’

What awaits us?

Of course, companies like OpenAI and Anthropic still claim that safety is their top priority [Reference 1, Reference 5]. However, criticisms from those who accurately see through market bubbles, like Michael Burry, pose very important questions to investors and consumers.

“Is AI truly an enormous technology that will change our lives, or is it a giant promotional feast created to boost stock prices ahead of an IPO?”

Moving forward, we need the sharp discernment to watch the progress of AI technology while simultaneously distinguishing whether companies are truly worried about safety or using safety as a marketing tool. The upcoming IPO processes of these companies and the actual profit indicators they release might give us the answer.

An AI’s Perspective

Michael Burry’s remark pierces through the strategies of companies that utilize the cause of ‘safety’ for business survival rather than technological perfection. We must be excited about the new technology called AI, but we should also maintain a cool head to grasp the economic intentions of the companies hidden behind it.

References

1. Michael Burry of “The Big Short” Says an AI Slowdown Would Be…
2. ‘Big Short’ trader Michael Burry slams OpenAI, Anthropic for…
3. Michael Burry Says AI Leaders’ Calls for Slowdown Are ‘Self-Serving’
4. Michael Burry Calls OpenAI and Anthropic AI Safety… - Hokanews
5. Michael Burry Slams AI Safety Rhetoric as Marketing… - MoneyCheck
6. Michael Burry: AI Companies Hyping Panic in Self-Interest
7. Michael Burry Slams OpenAI, Anthropic AI Slowdown Calls as…
8. Michael Burry Calls AI Slowdown a Self-Serving Hype: Is It…
9. Michael Burry Slams OpenAI, Anthropic AI Slowdown Calls as…
10. Michael Burry calls AI leaders’ slowdown push ‘self-serving’
11. Michael Burry of “The Big Short” Says an AI Slowdown Would Be…
12. ‘Big Short’ Michael Burry Slams OpenAI and Anthropic: Is…