ControlAI's Connor Leahy Urges Halt to Superintelligence Development as New Bills Gain Backing
Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · Sep 9
ControlAI's Connor Leahy Urges Halt to Superintelligence Development as New Bills Gain Backing
3 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · Sep 9
Summary
Connor Leahy, ControlAI’s U.S. executive director, said companies should stop developing superintelligence, arguing recent safety incidents show systems beyond human capability may be impossible to control.
Leahy said the real point of no return comes when AI can build better AI itself, creating a runaway self-improvement cycle that alignment and containment may not stop.
New legislation is giving that once-fringe position more traction, including the Sanders-Casar Ban Superintelligence Act in the U.S. and parallel U.K. proposals that ControlAI advised on.
Leahy said frontier AI labs now act less like profit-seeking companies and more like political actors, a shift he tied to trillions of dollars flowing into data-center buildouts and the need for international verification agreements.