Protesters once again took to the streets of San Francisco, marching between the offices of OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind, demanding a moratorium on development of more powerful AI.
Saturday’s demonstration, organized by Stop the AI Race, went beyond AI safety to include concerns about job losses, AI’s environmental impact, rising housing costs in San Francisco, and the growing influence of big tech companies.
The march, organized by former AI researcher Michael Trazzi, called on major AI companies to stop training new frontier AI models while keeping existing systems available. Demonstrators called on companies to redirect research into AI safety and collaboration until stronger safeguards are in place, while some called for stronger local and state regulations.
Trazzi said the group’s goals have changed since the first protests in March.
“Earlier this year, I was thinking more about convincing CEOs, but less about raising political profile,” Trazzi said. decryption. “Given multiple blog posts and interactions with one of them, I think we were able to update towards the CEO actually listening. I also think that having a protest helps people show that they care.”
The demonstration follows the “Stop the AI Race” protests in March, when about 200 people walked between the offices of Anthropic, OpenAI, and xAI, calling for a coordinated moratorium on frontier AI development. Since then, the group has continued its campaign through protests and public support.
Mr Truzzi said he was heartened by the support the movement has garnered since then.
“I was pleasantly surprised to receive the NUHW.” [National Union of Healthcare Workers] “Please support the protests and repost on social media. I was also amazed at how quickly other groups in the Bay Area, like AI Action, were able to grasp the situation and work with us,” he said. I’m also very grateful to QuitGPT for helping me organize this project. ”
OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Decrypt.
Organizers said they plan to continue advocating for an international moratorium on frontier AI development while encouraging lawmakers to adopt stronger oversight of advanced AI systems.
The protests come as concerns about the safety of AI continue to come under scrutiny.
In May, OpenAI introduced new ChatGPT safety features designed to better detect signs of self-harm or violence during conversations, as the company’s chatbot faces lawsuits and investigations over claims it mishandled dangerous interactions.
In June, President Donald Trump’s administration ordered Anthropic to suspend access to its Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5 models, citing potential cybersecurity risks. Earlier this month, the United Nations’ first independent scientific commission on AI concluded that scientists cannot rule out “catastrophic harm” because AI technology is advancing faster than scientific understanding or government oversight.
