Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei rejects claim AI regulation would concentrate power

AI Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei rejects claim AI regulation would concentrate power ANI Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei rejects claim AI regulation would concentrate power Synopsis Responding to a debate sparked by comments from investor Gavin Baker, Amodei said the choice between concentrating AI power through regulation and distributing it widely was a "false choice". He argued that fair institutional processes can constrain corporate power and protect individuals, while regulation can be designed to place greater burdens on the most advanced AI companies than on smaller challengers. Follow us ANI Aug 16, 2026, 11:49:57 AM IST SHARE THIS NEWS Close Font Size Abc Small Abc Normal Abc Large Close Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has pushed back against claims that regulating artificial intelligence would inevitably concentrate power in the hands of a few companies and governments, arguing that carefully designed rules could instead constrain frontier AI firms while giving smaller competitors more room to catch up. Responding to a debate sparked by comments from investor Gavin Baker , Amodei said the choice between concentrating AI power through regulation and distributing it widely was a "false choice". He argued that fair institutional processes can constrain corporate power and protect individuals, while regulation can be designed to place greater burdens on the most advanced AI companies than on smaller challengers. Amodei pointed to Anthropic's support for California's SB53 and its earlier position on SB1047, saying both approaches exempted companies below specified revenue or model-training thresholds. He also said Anthropic has backed testing frameworks that impose more rigorous requirements on frontier models than on less advanced systems, which he believes could benefit challengers, including open-weight AI developers. The comments came in response to Baker's argument that AI's risks should potentially be addressed by distributing AI capabilities widely rather than concentrating them through regulation. Baker had also argued that Amodei's public warnings about AI risks could contribute to regulatory pressure and restrictions on data centres, while reducing the likelihood of AI delivering broad benefits. Amodei, however, said AI is structurally prone to concentrating power because of the economics and computing requirements associated with scaling advanced models. While open-weight models can help distribute capabilities, he argued they are not sufficient because access to large amounts of computing power and chips remains concentrated among frontier AI companies and major hardware providers. He also rejected the suggestion that his public messaging on AI has been disproportionately negative. Amodei said he has sought to balance warnings about risks with the technology's potential benefits, pointing to his essay Machines of Loving Grace, which explored AI's potential to transform healthcare and biology. He argued that the bigger problem facing the industry is a crisis of public trust and that companies should earn confidence by delivering tangible benefits rather than relying on optimistic marketing. Amodei said he remains supportive of pre-deployment testing for frontier models and testing of open-weight models as they approach the frontier, while also expressing support for Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis' proposal for a FINRA-like AI oversight body. Continue Reading Read more news on Anthropic Dario Amodei frontier AI AI regulation Gavin Baker public trust in AI (Catch all the Technology News News , and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times .) More NEXT READ AI-led matchmaking apps getting all the investor love Anthropic IPO valuation hinges on $190-200 billion 2028 revenue forecast Josh Kushner’s Thrive Fund grows sevenfold to $3.7 billion on AI bets CM Shivakumar announces AI education programme for schools in Karnataka We will train 1 crore youth in AI skills over next year: PM Modi China's Z.ai says new model nears Anthropic's Mythos 5 in cyber-defence tests Samsung hires two AI experts to boost AI adoption in chip business OpenAI revenue chief Denise Dresser exits after just 8 months OpenAI’s annualised revenue tops $40 billion ahead of IPO