OpenAI says it is in AI safety talks with Anthropic and Google DeepMind

For several weeks, OpenAI has been discussing AI safety with Anthropic and Google DeepMind, Bloomberg reported, citing OpenAI global policy chief Chris Lehane.

What the report establishes is narrow: OpenAI says the three frontier-model developers have been in contact. It does not establish a binding agreement, adopted shared standards, a joint enforcement mechanism or agreed development limits. The scope, participants and intended deliverables have not been disclosed.

“It’s better to try to work together to prioritize safety,” Lehane told Bloomberg. He also said OpenAI does not believe the companies need an antitrust waiver to coordinate on safety. That is OpenAI’s stated position, not a determination by a regulator or court.

That position differs from a proposal Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published separately. In his proposal, Amodei wrote that AI companies can voluntarily work together to set standards and argued that US government mediation or a narrow antitrust waiver would help enable some safety discussions. The opened sources do not show that the companies have reconciled those governance positions.

The companies already have a venue for industry coordination. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Microsoft launched the Frontier Model Forum in 2023 to support safety research, best practices, standards and information sharing. That forum predates the newly reported discussions and is not evidence of a new agreement.

OpenAI has also argued that frontier-model safety should not be governed solely by the companies developing the technology. In a July policy statement, it backed national standards, independent audits and incident reporting under government oversight.

Bloomberg said spokespeople for Anthropic and Google DeepMind did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The report therefore does not provide confirmation from either company or show that they endorsed OpenAI’s description of the talks.