Safety talks need no waiver, says OpenAI’s Lehane

Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s global policy chief, told reporters on Tuesday that the company has worked with Anthropic and Google DeepMind on AI safety for weeks, first reported by Bloomberg. He is in Washington working with U.S. lawmakers on catastrophic risks.

Amodei’s essay, published Saturday, proposed a narrow government waiver so rival labs could coordinate on safety without antitrust trouble. Lehane reportedly said the firms don’t need one, though Altman has noted such coordination could break antitrust law if it’s found to suppress competition.

Lehane also said OpenAI supports a provision in the FRONTIER Act requiring top frontier labs to let “independent verification organizations” inside.