Why Anthropic’s Dario Amodei Has Angered OpenAI and Other A.I. Peers

Why Silicon Valley’s Knives Came Out for Anthropic Dario Amodei, the company’s chief executive, publicly frets about the dangers of artificial intelligence and has made enemies of his peers along the way. Jensen Huang and Satya Nadella had a problem. Anthropic and OpenAI, the leading artificial intelligence companies, were lobbying the White House to prevent some A.I. models from being developed and widely shared because, they argued, they were too dangerous. But Mr. Huang and Mr. Nadella’s companies, Nvidia and Microsoft, saw those A.I. models as a big business opportunity. At the end of July, Mr. Huang — who resigned from his job on Thursday after Nvidia’s board launched an investigation into his conduct — and Mr. Nadella intervened. They emailed each other drafts of a letter saying those A.I. models should remain open, according to four people familiar with the discussions. When they asked other technology executives whether they’d like to sign on, two dozen companies quickly agreed before the letter became public. Over the next week, 200 more companies — including a chastened OpenAI — signed onto the letter. Anthropic’s chief executive, Dario Amodei, refused. Dr. Amodei has for years exasperated his peers with warnings about extreme risks of A.I., even as his company has built some of the most powerful A.I. systems in the world. Frustration has turned to hostility as Anthropic leaped into the lead in A.I. development, experienced stunning revenue growth and moved toward what is likely to be one of the largest initial public offerings ever later this month. Along the way, Anthropic — which has cultivated an image as a company that tries to do the right thing — has also gained a reputation for playing hardball with customers and competitors. It has cut some off from its service and lobbied against other companies’s free alternatives to its A.I. Over the last year, other technology companies and investors have organized to push back, according to more than 20 people in the technology industry, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve their relationships with Anthropic. They have tried to show a united front to counter Dr. Amodei’s warnings about A.I. They have leaned on their ties to President Trump to keep regulators away. They have publicly complained about Anthropic’s business practices. They have even spoken with another Anthropic executive about Dr. Amodei scaring people with his rhetoric. Related Content Advertisement