SINGAPORE, September 14: AI-linked technology stocks fell sharply across Asian markets on Monday after several leading artificial intelligence executives called for a slower pace of frontier AI development, warning that rapidly advancing systems could create serious safety and misuse risks.
The selloff hit chipmakers, AI investors and semiconductor suppliers, while Nasdaq futures also weakened as investors reassessed expectations that AI development and infrastructure spending would continue expanding at an uninterrupted pace.
SoftBank Falls More Than 13%
One of the biggest declines came in Japan, where SoftBank shares dropped as much as 13.2%. The Japanese investment group has significant exposure to OpenAI and other technology companies linked to the AI boom.
Other major Asian technology stocks also declined:
- Kioxia: down as much as 9.8%
- Tokyo Electron: down 3.7%
- SK Hynix: down 5.3%
- Samsung Electronics: down 3.7%
- TSMC: down 1.2%
Nasdaq e-mini futures were also down around 1.3% during Asian trading.
Dario Amodei Calls for AI Development to Slow
The market reaction followed an essay by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who argued that leading AI companies should slow the rate at which they increase the capabilities of their most advanced models.
Amodei warned that increasingly autonomous AI agents could soon become capable of causing large-scale cyber and economic damage unless stronger safeguards are developed alongside new capabilities.
His proposal includes allowing independent evaluators deeper access to frontier AI systems and establishing common safety standards across leading laboratories.
Altman, Musk and Hassabis Back Calls for Caution
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly supported Amodei’s argument that frontier AI needs to be paced more carefully.
Altman also said OpenAI would adopt independent evaluation measures and has ruled out an IPO in 2026 amid the heightened focus on safety.
Elon Musk also backed Amodei’s call, while Google DeepMind chair Demis Hassabis said the direction was broadly correct, although details still needed to be worked out. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella similarly supported stronger oversight mechanisms.
Investors Fear AI Boom Could Lose Momentum
AI-related stocks have been among the strongest performers in global markets in recent years, supported by massive spending on semiconductors, data centres and advanced computing infrastructure.
Investors are now concerned that even a modest slowdown in frontier-model development could affect demand expectations across the AI supply chain.
Market strategists said valuations in many AI and semiconductor companies assume continued rapid technological progress, making these stocks particularly sensitive to any indication that investment or model development could slow.
Chinese AI Stocks Also Decline
The selloff spread to mainland China and Hong Kong.
Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT fell as much as 3.6%, while Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation declined around 2.6%. Hong Kong-listed AI companies also came under pressure, with Minimax and Z.ai recording sharp falls during trading.
At the same time, China’s state-backed Global Times criticised Amodei’s proposal, arguing that slowing AI development while tightening restrictions on Chinese technology could become a form of technological containment.
AI Safety Debate Intensifies
Concerns over advanced AI have increased following reports of models being used for cyber operations, surveillance, fraud and other potentially harmful activities.
Anthropic recently released a threat-intelligence report documenting misuse of its Claude models, while several AI researchers have publicly warned that increasingly autonomous systems could become difficult to control.
The debate is now creating tension between two competing priorities: maintaining rapid AI innovation and giving researchers, regulators and companies enough time to develop stronger safety systems.
For markets, the immediate concern is whether increased regulation or voluntary limits on frontier AI development could slow the massive technology investment cycle that has helped drive global equities.
source – Reuters / The Indian Express
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