Is Big Tech’s AI slowdown a safety pact or a cartel?

Major AI company leaders including those from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and SpaceX agreed to slow down AI development, citing safety reasons and proposing third-party auditors (independent evaluators who check whether systems are safe) and global regulations. Critics argue the agreement is actually an anticompetitive cartel (illegal cooperation between companies to limit competition) designed to block smaller competitors and the open-source community rather than improve safety.