Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Meta, challenged calls to slow the development of artificial intelligence, arguing on Tuesday that focusing on safety measures rather than halting progress is the appropriate course of action. His comments came amid a broader industry debate over the rapid advancement of AI technologies and concerns about their potential risks.

Without explicitly naming Anthropic or its CEO, Dario Amodei, Zuckerberg dismissed proposals for an industrywide pause in AI development. Amodei had publicly advocated for a global slowdown over fears about the accelerating capabilities of AI systems. Other prominent figures, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and entrepreneur Elon Musk, have also supported some form of restraint, highlighting the need to ensure AI serves humanity responsibly.

In a social media post, Zuckerberg emphasized that each AI laboratory bears the responsibility and incentive to progress at a pace that maintains safety. He stated that Meta has committed to this principle and encouraged other organizations to do likewise. “Every lab has the responsibility and incentive to move at the pace required to train its models safely,” he said.

Zuckerberg criticized what he described as rival laboratories’ rush toward “recursive self-improvement," a process by which AI systems assist in refining and evolving themselves independently. He argued that companies should prioritize developing AI technologies that are designed to benefit and serve people, rather than focusing solely on advancing technical capabilities.

Meta has been working to close the gap with leading AI developers after trailing behind Anthropic and OpenAI last year. The company is preparing to launch its most advanced AI model yet, internally dubbed "Watermelon," in the coming weeks as part of efforts to strengthen its position in the competitive AI field.

The debate over the pace and direction of AI progress has intensified following the resignation of a researcher at Anthropic who cautioned that many AI firms may be “gambling with our lives.” This departure has amplified scrutiny of the industry's approach to the ethical and safety challenges posed by rapidly evolving AI systems.

Meanwhile, Meta’s focus remains on integrating robust safety practices into its developmental processes, stating that it implements necessary precautions as part of routine operations because it views safety as both a responsibility and an imperative for the company and its users.