Anthropic CEO Slams Nvidia's Jensen Huang Claim As 'Outrageous Lie,' Says He's Not Trying To Control AI

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has vehemently denied allegations made by Nvidia NVDA CEO Jensen Huang that he is attempting to dominate the AI industry.Trending Investment OpportunitiesAmodei Pushes Back On Huang’s Claims, Urges Transparent AI DebateOn the Big Technology Podcast with host Alex Kantowitz on Wednesday, Amodei expressed profound annoyance at being branded a “doomer” and rejected the notion that he is attempting to hinder AI progress. When the host asked him about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang commenting on Amodei considering himself solely capable of safely constructing AI and trying to control the industry, the Anthropic CEO denied the idea, stating, “That’s the most outrageous lie I’ve ever heard.”Amodei’s rebuttal was deeply personal, rooted in his father’s demise, which he says motivates his pursuit of beneficial AI and his caution about its potential dangers. He advocated for more transparency and consideration in the AI discourse, dismissing claims that AI cannot be safely developed as “nonsense.”Despite his caution about AI’s potential hazards, Amodei maintained his optimism about the technology. He asserted that he and his firm, Anthropic, have frequently been more successful in highlighting the advantages of AI than self-proclaimed optimists. Amodei also tackled the “open source” AI technology development debate, a viewpoint advocated by Nvidia and Huang. He dismissed it as a “red herring,” arguing that large language models are inherently opaque, rendering open-source AI technology development as currently designed unfeasible.Nvidia Fires Back at Anthropic's AI Concerns And Fear-MongeringNvidia slammed Amodei's stance, calling for increased AI regulation and telling Fortune, "Lobbying for regulatory capture against open source will only stifle innovation, make AI less safe and secure, and less democratic. That's not a ‘race to the top' or the way for America to win." In July, Nvidia’s CEO expressed opposing views to Anthropic’s CEO, who said AI would lead to people losing jobs, “He thinks AI is so scary, but only they should do it,” Huang said. “If you want things to be done safely and responsibly, you should do it in the open,” added the Nvidia CEO.Anthropic Warns US May Fall Behind China in AIThis controversy comes in the wake of Anthropic’s warning about the U.S. lagging behind China in the global AI race due to energy constraints. The San Francisco-based AI company has been vocal about the country’s energy generation issues impeding AI development.Furthermore, Anthropic’s recent financial success, with an annualized revenue run rate of $3 billion, primarily driven by enterprise demand for its AI models, adds another layer to this debate. This rapid growth has been largely attributed to the company’s AI models, particularly in code generation. Anthropic Study Shows AI Chatbots Can Transfer Their Bad Habits Through Hidden Signals In Data Image via Shutterstock