Shares of companies linked to artificial intelligence opened lower on Monday after several prominent AI executives and researchers publicly urged a slowdown in development. According to CNBC, investors fear that voluntary limits could slow growth across the sector and reduce the pace of AI adoption.
Market moves by region
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Asia: due to time zones, Asian markets had already closed, but significant declines were recorded earlier. On the Japanese exchange, shares of South Korea’s SK Hynix were about 6% lower and Samsung Electronics roughly 4% lower compared with the morning’s opening. SoftBank, one of OpenAI’s largest investors, saw its stock drop by 10%.
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Europe: relevant tech and industrial stocks also weakened during morning trade. ASML was down more than 4%, Nokia about 5%, and Infineon over 6%, while Siemens Energy and Schneider Electric also showed losses.
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U.S. (premarket): regular trading begins at 15:30 Budapest time; in premarket trading Micron fell around 5%, Intel nearly 6%, and Nvidia about 2%. Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon also registered smaller declines.
What triggered investor concern?
The market reaction followed public calls from AI safety leaders and senior researchers urging a slowdown in development. In recent weeks — notably the last week — warnings about catastrophic AI scenarios grew louder, including suggestions that advanced AI could pose existential risks to humanity within a few years.
A senior researcher who worked at OpenAI and later at Anthropic left his employer saying “no one is ready for the consequences of AI.” An Anthropic senior safety researcher went further, stating that AI could “kill all humans” by the end of the decade.
A few days after those stark comments, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei emphasized that “if we do not slow the pace of development, there is a high chance we will all die in the near future.” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman agreed that development pace should be curtailed. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and a long-standing proponent of slowing development, posted on X that “Dario is right.”
Why it matters
The public statements by industry figures and the subsequent media attention have increased short-term uncertainty in the sector. Investors worry that voluntary slowdowns by major players could affect not only individual companies’ future revenues but also the broader rollout of AI technologies. That concern was reflected in Monday’s price drops across Asian, European and U.S. premarket trading.
What comes next
Whether these declines are temporary reactions or the start of a longer correction will depend on market sentiment and further statements from industry leaders. Observers — including investors and regulators — will be watching developments closely, as ongoing debates over the pace of technological progress and associated risks may shape future market and policy decisions.
