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OpenAI has been engaging with competitors Anthropic and Google DeepMind on AI safety for several weeks, global policy chief Chris Lehane said Tuesday at a briefing in Washington. Discussions have been ongoing since Google's Demis Hassabis released a proposal in July calling for a U.S.-led Standards Body, an OpenAI spokesperson said. Lehane said OpenAI does not see the need for an antitrust waiver for the three AI firms to coordinate on safety matters, and cited the airline industry as an example of precedent for such cooperation.

The talks follow a 3,800-word essay posted Saturday by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who urged restraining development of the most advanced AI systems so researchers can better understand potential threats. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceXAI chief Elon Musk quickly embraced Amodei's essay. Altman said a slowdown has been a primary topic of discussion at OpenAI in recent weeks, and that the company will have more to share soon.

Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson said Tuesday he would be deeply suspicious of requests for antitrust exemptions, framing the AI companies as asking for barriers to entry that will insulate their business from challengers. Lehane said OpenAI supports provisions in proposed legislation including the FRONTIER Act, which would require top AI companies to allow outside evaluators to determine if their models are safe. Spokespeople for Anthropic and Google DeepMind did not immediately respond to requests for comment.