Anthropic CEO says US must advance AI quickly while keeping it safe

Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei addressed both the promise and the dangers of artificial intelligence following a meeting at the White House focused on the technology's rapid development. Amodei said the United States faces a dual challenge: staying ahead in the global race to build advanced AI systems while ensuring that progress does not come at the expense of safety.

"We all need to work together to make sure that we can win, and we can win safely if we do this right," Amodei said, framing competitiveness and caution as goals that can be pursued together rather than traded off against one another.

A recurring theme in Washington

The comments came amid a broader push by the current administration to convene technology leaders on AI policy, as officials weigh how to encourage innovation while addressing concerns about the technology's risks. Anthropic, the company behind the Claude family of AI models, has positioned itself as an advocate for safety-focused development within the industry.

Amodei's remarks reflect a stance the company has maintained publicly for some time: that AI capabilities are advancing quickly enough that safety work needs to keep pace, rather than being treated as a secondary concern to be addressed later.

Industry and government engagement

The meeting is part of a wider pattern of engagement between AI developers and government officials as the technology's capabilities and potential risks draw increasing attention in Washington. Executives from major AI companies have increasingly taken part in discussions with policymakers over the past year, as questions about regulation, national competitiveness, and safety standards have moved higher up the political agenda.

Amodei did not detail specific policy proposals in the remarks reviewed, but his comments reinforce Anthropic's broader position that safety and competitiveness in AI development need not be in conflict, provided the work is approached carefully.