Global technology stocks fell on Monday after warnings from leading artificial intelligence figures raised concerns that the pace of AI development might slow.
A sell-off swept across Wall Street in the afternoon, dragging the tech-focused Nasdaq 100 index down by about 1.2%. AI chipmaker Nvidia dropped about 3%, while Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX fell about 1% in morning trading. Other chipmakers were also hit: Micron Technology lost about 5% and Intel shares were down more than 6%.
The losses followed declines for tech and AI stocks on Asian markets overnight.
Over the weekend, Musk and OpenAI leader Sam Altman backed a call from Anthropic boss Dario Amodei for the AI industry to "slow down" so safety measures could catch up. In an essay, Amodei said he was concerned that AI was "advancing drastically faster" since the summer and could eventually take over the entire internet.
Anthropic is preparing to list its shares on the US stock market in what is expected to be one of the world's largest initial public offerings.
Ben Barringer, head of technology research at Quilter Cheviot, said Amodei may want to be seen as leading the debate on responsible AI use. "The company is also in IPO mode so Amodei will want to show the company is a good steward of investors' capital, while there may also be an element of looking to push a fresh regulatory agenda and push for more controls that may ultimately be beneficial for Anthropic."
He added: "Regardless of this, it has clearly spooked the market that the pace of change may slow. However, while things may slow somewhat, the pace of change is still going to be vast. Demand still far outstrips supply, so even if things are to slow a little, company revenues are unlikely to be impacted."
On Monday, Donald Trump responded by criticising what he called a "sick conspiracy" against AI and data centres, and pushed back against calls for greater regulation to allow safety measures to catch up.
