AI Pacing Plans Can't Replace Real Governance

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's essay calling for AI development to be slowed through industry coordination and international agreements deserves serious attention, but places too much weight on collective restraint. Independent verification can coexist with competitive markets, but asking rivals to collectively slow down fights both economic incentives and the fundamental drive of scientific progress. The proposal's fragility was exposed within days of publication, as the industry split into three distinct camps. Some backed it, others rejected coordinated slowdowns while accepting the safety diagnosis, and others questioned whether incumbent labs were acting in self-interest. That rapid fracture reveals a core problem: coordination may support a safety strategy, but it cannot be its foundation.