Michael Burry Calls OpenAI and Anthropic AI Safety Warnings ‘Self-Serving’

Investor Michael Burry, known for his bearish bets during the 2008 financial crisis depicted in “The Big Short,” has criticized calls from OpenAI and Anthropic executives to slow the development of advanced artificial intelligence, describing the warnings as “self-serving” and potentially connected to the companies’ plans for public listings.

In a post published on coinbureau his Substack under the title Cassandra Unchained, Burry argued that large AI companies could benefit financially and competitively from a slowdown in frontier AI development. He also questioned whether current large language models represent a path toward artificial general intelligence, writing that “LLMs are not AI and won’t be AGI.”

Burry Questions AI Safety Warnings

Burry’s criticism comes as executives at some of the world’s leading AI companies have increasingly emphasized the potential risks associated with rapidly advancing systems.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has called for a slower pace of frontier AI development, arguing that safety measures and governance need time to catch up with technological progress. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has also supported additional safety work and said the company would not pursue an IPO in 2026, calling the current environment an “ill-advised moment” to go public.

Burry takes a fundamentally different view. He argues that slowing development could strengthen incumbent companies by giving competitors less opportunity to close the technological gap. He also questioned the commercial value of portraying existing AI systems as potentially powerful enough to pose existential risks.

His comments amount to a challenge to one of the central narratives now shaping the AI industry: that increasingly capable systems require greater caution even as companies compete to expand their computing capacity and market reach.

IPO Timing Adds a Financial Dimension

The debate has gained an additional financial dimension because both OpenAI and Anthropic are preparing for potential public-market listings. OpenAI has ruled out an IPO in 2026, while Anthropic continues to be viewed as a potential candidate for a major listing.

That does not establish a connection between the companies’ safety policies and their financing strategies. Burry’s argument is his own interpretation rather than evidence that OpenAI or Anthropic issued safety warnings for the purpose of increasing IPO valuations.

For investors, the dispute highlights a broader question about how AI companies should balance technological competition, safety spending, regulatory scrutiny and growth expectations. The distinction between present-day large language models and future forms of artificial general intelligence also remains central to the markets disagreement.

With OpenAI delaying its planned market debut and Anthropic continuing to face scrutiny over its development strategy, the industry’s next test will be whether heightened safety concerns translate into concrete changes in AI deployment, regulation and investment.

Writer: Victoria Hale
Technology & Blockchain Writer

Victoria Hale writes about blockchain technology, digital infrastructure, and the intersection of emerging technologies with finance. Her articles explore how new protocols and systems are shaping the evolving digital economy.

She prioritises clarity and accuracy when explaining technical developments to a general audience.