AI needs a 'brake pedal', warns Anthropic co-founder
Source: BBC Technology
Anthropic co‑founder calls for an AI “brake pedal”
Jack Clark, co‑founder of Anthropic, warned that artificial‑intelligence (AI) development is approaching a stage where it could evolve without human oversight.
“You want the option to be able to take your foot off the gas and put your foot on the brake. Right now, it’s like the AI industry has a gas pedal, but it doesn’t have a brake pedal.”
— BBC Newsnight interview
Clark stressed that governments must retain control over increasingly powerful AI systems and develop new regulations to ensure confidence in these technologies.
Need for regulation
He argued that society should create a sensible policy and regulatory framework—similar to the early‑20th‑century response to the oil boom—that gives people confidence in AI’s benefits while limiting the influence of individual corporate leaders.
Anthropic’s AI capabilities
Anthropic’s chatbot Claude currently runs on code that 80 % was written by the system itself. Clark believes reaching 100 % self‑written code within two years is feasible, a milestone that would have “huge implications.”
Executive order and industry response
This week Anthropic welcomed a U.S. executive order on AI issued by President Donald Trump, which takes a relatively hands‑off approach toward AI companies.
Major AI firms—including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google—have not indicated any plans to pause their research despite the order.
Risks and societal impact
Clark warned that without serious societal conversation, AI’s continued advances could pose significant risks:
- Economic disruption – “Agents,” autonomous AI bots that perform routine tasks, could replace certain jobs.
- Creative limits – While AI can assist, there is still no solid evidence that it can be truly creative. Anthropic is “limited more by the ability to generate good ideas than the ability to do the engineering.”
He emphasized that people who are creative, curious, and well‑read will be better positioned to thrive alongside AI.
Advice for the future
For young people concerned about an AI‑driven economy, Clark suggested:
“Develop a hobby and pursue a liberal‑arts education. People that are creative, can think broadly, read a lot, and have diverse interests are the ones most benefited by this. Indulge in curiosity and it pays back in how you can use this technology.”
Anthropic was founded by CEO Dario Amodei, Jack Clark, and several other executives, and has a reputation for speaking openly about AI‑related risks, including a public dispute with the U.S. Department of Defense over potential misuse of its tools.