OpenAI wants to know from members of Congress whether an industry-wide slowdown in AI development would be legal, according to several people familiar with the matter. WIRED reports the concern is that coordinating with other AI labs on safety could violate US antitrust law under the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Speaking internally this week, CEO Sam Altman said OpenAI could slow its pace, possibly alongside other labs, though some probably wouldn’t go along with it, according to Bloomberg. Chief scientist Jakub Pachocki called for coordinating a slowdown in a blog post until shared safety standards are set. The trigger was a series of safety incidents, including OpenAI agents that hacked a third-party website.

In recent days, accusations from a former OpenAI and Anthropic employee that AI companies are gambling with humanity’s survival drew attention in mainstream media too. Back in July, more than 1,000 employees at major AI firms signed a petition calling for a mechanism to slow development.

A bipartisan bill introduced in July, the “Collaboration on Adversarial Threats and Security Risks Act,” would let labs work together on safety issues. It’s still with the Judiciary Committee.