OpenAI says it has been talking with Anthropic and Google on AI safety

In short: OpenAI says it has spent weeks in talks with Anthropic and Google DeepMind about AI safety.

What's going on

OpenAI policy chief Chris Lehane told reporters that OpenAI has been working with rivals Anthropic and Google DeepMind on AI safety for several weeks. Bloomberg first reported the talks, and TechCrunch reported the details.

The timing follows a recent public call from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei for AI companies to coordinate more closely on safety and to slow down if needed. Several well known AI leaders, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, publicly supported that call. Altman also said OpenAI would bring in third party evaluators, which are outside groups that check systems for safety (like an independent home inspector).

There is also a legal complication. Some people, including Altman, have said that coordination between major competitors could trigger antitrust concerns, which are laws meant to stop companies from teaming up in ways that reduce competition. Amodei suggested a narrow government waiver to make safety coordination clearly legal, but Lehane reportedly said the companies do not need one.

Separate reporting has suggested the companies may be discussing an industry standards body, meaning a shared rulebook for testing and safety checks.

What to watch

Washington is a big part of this story. President Trump and his advisor David Sacks have dismissed some AI safety warnings and argue that slowing down could help China catch up. Meanwhile, Lehane said OpenAI supports a provision in the proposed FRONTIER Act that would require top AI labs to allow independent verification organizations to review their work. Whether those outside checks become a real requirement, and how companies coordinate without breaking competition laws, are the next key questions.

Source: TechCrunch AI