Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei has written an essay called We Must Pace the Frontier, in which he urges such companies to slow the rate at which they improve the capabilities of AI models.

It comes amid increased fears about the possible misuse of AI, with Anthropic recently revealing that several bad actors had used its Claude AI models for activities including weapons development, cyber operations, surveillance ​and fraud.

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Mr Amodei has come up with a three-part plan, part of which he said his AI company was unilaterally committed to.

In a post on X in which he commits to the "first of these steps", he writes: "We'll provide third-party evaluators with permanent, employee-level access to our systems, so that they can verify adherence to our safety measures, report on incidents, and assess models' alignment during training."

Mr Musk, the boss of X which has developed it's own 'Grok' AI, replied to the post, writing: "Dario is right."

And OpenAI boss Mr Altman wrote on X: "I agree with Dario that we need to pace the frontier. This has been a primary topic of discussions we've had at OpenAI in recent weeks.

"Committing to having independent evaluators with employee-like access is a great idea, and we will do the same. We'll have more to share soon."

Mr Altman's comments come after he revealed that OpenAI will not go public this year, citing the safety concerns.

"I actually think that, given everything happening with safety, right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public, and we don't feel pressure on that," he told Fortune magazine.

The New York Times in June reported that the company was considering whether to hold off on a potentially trillion-dollar IPO until next year.

"We got a lot of stuff to do, like meeting this moment of what is going to be required for safety and alignment, and how the industry and governments can work together," Mr Altman continued when asked about whether 2027 was more likely for them to go public.

Fortune reported that he also suggested OpenAI and other leading AI companies may be close to announcing an agreement to slow AI development and work together to address safety risks.

Mr Amodei said he was concerned that since this summer, AI has been "advancing drastically faster, driven primarily by AI's growing ability to build the next generation of AI".

And he warned that within six to 12 months AI could be capable of leading a "swarm" that could take over "the entire internet" causing "hundreds of billions of dollars in damage", among other risks.

Former prime minister Rishi Sunak wrote on X: "Dario is right to call today for slowing the pace of frontier development so that safety can keep up.

"When the labs themselves are asking for speed limits, governments should listen."

He added that "even as the US and China compete, they urgently need a frank conversation about how to avoid catastrophe".

Evan Hubinger, a top safety researcher at Anthropic, recently said there is a more than 10% chance that "AI could kill all humans" in the next decade.

And researcher Jacob Coxon ⁠resigned from Anthropic amid fears the company and OpenAI "are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives".

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Mr Amodei said he was not calling for stopping model training or technical progress, but making sure companies take enough time to align and ‌safeguard their models, and for third-party evaluators to confirm these steps.

What are his proposed three steps?

• Embedded evaluators. Each frontier AI company commits to giving ongoing, employee-like access to a team of embedded third-party evaluators (such as METR), whose role is to verify adherence to safety practices and commitments, report incidents, and help assess the alignment of not just completed AI models but training pipelines and processes.

This is the key step for verifiability of any pacing commitments, and has precedent in the banking industry, which sometimes involves regulatory "supervisors" embedded along with employees. Anthropic is unilaterally committing to this step now. We intend this to be part of a broader push to redouble efforts on our safety and alignment work.

• Democratic coordination. Frontier AI companies within democratic countries coordinate to establish common safety standards as well as limits on the rate of unchecked AI progress. Some forms of coordination that would be impactful for pacing are legally challenging, and will require government support.

• Global coordination. The US and other democratic governments attempt to coordinate with authoritarian governments, to the extent this is possible, while taking seriously the challenges of verifying compliance.

Speaking to the press during a two-day visit to Ireland, the US president said a unified Ireland would be "a great feather in everyone's cap", before later asking: "How can it be bad?"

Mr Trump had been asked by a reporter for his views on Irish reunification.

"I'd love to see it unified," the president said. "It's going to happen eventually. It may as well happen now."

Referencing the Irish premier, Micheal Martin, who sat beside him ahead of talks at the Farmleigh Estate in Dublin on Saturday morning, Mr Trump added: "We're talking about it and you got the right man over here to get it moving.

"But, yeah, I think it would be a fantastic thing."

He doubled down on his comments while speaking at the US embassy in the city afterwards.

"I actually said it would be, I think, a very cool thing," Trump said. "To be honest with you, I think it would be cool."

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Reacting to the remarks, Ireland's deputy premier Simon Harris said they showed "how much the conversation about a unified island is advancing at home and abroad".

In Westminster, Northern Ireland secretary Sir Chris Bryant shared screenshots of legislation from the Good Friday Agreement as "a quick refresher" of the political settlement existing in the country.

Irish President Catherine Connolly, a long-standing critic of the US president, received Mr Trump at her official residence Aras an Uachtarain in Phoenix Park earlier in the day.

Mr Trump's visit has prompted what has been described as one of the biggest security operations ever put in place by the Irish police service.

During his appearance with Mr Martin, Mr Trump said the relationship between Ireland and the US has "never been as good as it is right now".

He described himself and Mr Martin as "friends", and said they "had a great relationship from the beginning".

Mr Trump later flew aboard Air Force One across the country to his golf resort in Doonbeg, County Clare, which is hosting the Irish Open.

He was pictured with his two sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., watching play on Saturday afternoon.

Earlier this year, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham sparked a political row on the island of Ireland when he said a unity referendum is "off the table".

Under the terms of the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, the UK Northern Irish secretary is obliged to hold a border poll if he believes unification will be supported by a majority of voters.

To effect constitutional change, the people of the Republic of Ireland must also vote in favour.

Republican party Sinn Fein has boycotted the annual St Patrick's day visit to Washington for the last two years over the Trump administration's stance on the Middle East, but Northern Ireland's leading unionist parties, the DUP and UUP, have continued to attend and engage with the US president.

Performing in Paris on Saturday to a sold-out crowd of tens of thousands, an emotional Dion told her adoring fans that it was "amazing we are all together".

"I made a promise. I made a promise to come back and to be back on stage," she added.

"Here I am singing for you, and singing for me.

"Thank you so very much for your support, your patience. I am everything I am because you love me.

"The path was rocky, the road was longer ​than planned, but I held on."

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney paid tribute to her return on social media by referencing one of her biggest hits.

"It's all coming back," Mr Carney wrote on X. "Congratulations on an incredible return to the stage after six long years."

The French-Canadian singer took a break from performing after revealing her stiff person syndrome (SPS) diagnosis in December 2022, which forced her to cancel a world tour.

SPS is a rare neurological disorder that causes progressive muscular stiffness and spasms. According to the NHS, there is currently no cure for the autoimmune disease.

The five-time Grammy winner's long-awaited comeback was revealed on her birthday on 30 March, when she posted on social media, expressing her excitement in a video message.

Dion extended her residency at the La Defense Arena to 16 concerts due to popular demand, with further shows taking place until 14 October, and a further 10 dates in 2027. She will perform her biggest hits in both French and English during the concerts.

Fans were also quick to praise Dion over her health issues, with British fan Catherine Rushforth telling Reuters as she was leaving the arena: "She didn't shy ‌away from what she suffered, and she shared it with her audience."

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The 58-year-old previously cancelled her Las Vegas residency due to health concerns in 2021, revealing her SPS diagnosis the following year.

During her break from performing, Dion had a brief cameo singing in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in 2024 and had repeatedly expressed her desire to return to the stage.

People were not wearing masks at either rally on Saturday after Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said anyone defying the warning could be arrested under powers in the Crime and Policing Act.

Sky's Dan Whitehead, reporting from the scene, said both groups gathered outside the Guildhall in the city "chanting for a couple of hours".

"The counter-protest, led by Stand Up to Racism, left... and what happened then is around 100 or so of the anti-migration protest splintered off and essentially chased them through the streets in Portsmouth."

He said that some of the anti-migration protesters were "following those counter-protesters, as they went back to the start point where many of them have parked their cars and so forth, gathering there and shouting abuse at them".

"That's resulted certainly in a lot of scuffles."

Whitehead said police officers have been trying to keep the two groups separate and that "poses challenges when they are splintering down different side roads and down different avenues".

He said: "We saw those protesters chasing down the counter-protesters, and that's created quite a challenge for the officers."

A number of arrests

A man was arrested on suspicion of the criminal damage of a police vehicle at the anti-immigration protest.

An officer at the scene in Portsmouth said the man was walking with a breakaway group after the majority of the protesters had dispersed.

Hampshire Police later said a 76-year-old man from Southampton was arrested on suspicion of wearing/using an item to conceal identity at a protest.

And a 33-year-old man from Portsmouth was arrested on suspicion of obstructing a highway.

The demonstrations come nearly a week after police officers were injured and vehicles damaged during an anti-migrant protest in Portsmouth.

Demonstrators clashed with police when migrants, who travelled from France on a dinghy, arrived at the port last Sunday.

Hampshire Police also said a 16-year-old boy from Portsmouth was arrested at this Saturday's protest on suspicion of violent disorder, in relation to violent public disorder at last Sunday's protest.

The protesters last weekend blocked roads for hours and vowed to stay all night in the second major anti-migrant demonstration in two days, following a similar action in Dover last Saturday.

In the latest demo in Portsmouth this Saturday, protesters held Union flags as the crowd chanted "stop the boats".

A group of counter-demonstrators displayed Stand Up To Racism and Refugees Welcome banners.

Signs included: "RNLI are heroes, no-one is illegal" and "stop pretending your racism is patriotism".

RNLI volunteers and staff have faced abuse from anti-migrant protesters over their rescue work bringing some small boat migrants ashore.

Anti-migrant demonstrators marched to Guildhall Square and the counter-protest followed behind on the same route.

A man could be seen wearing a face covering. He was on a mobility scooter and wore a plastic face mask.

He was stopped by police at the square. Officers spoke to him about the policing powers in place and he then removed the mask and continued on his way.

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The two groups were then assembled to face each other on opposite sides of the square, some shouting at each other.

Both groups were given specific locations at which they could gather under protest conditions.

Hampshire Police have said: "We will support those who want to express their views peacefully and lawfully, but we will not tolerate those whose only aim is to create fear and incite violence."

The force added that failure to comply with conditions could lead to arrest.

Hampshire police and crime commissioner Donna Jones said: "I'm pleased that today's protests in Portsmouth took place without major issue.

"Thankfully we didn't see repeated scenes of Sunday night with assaults on police officers and criminal damage to police vehicles and people's property.

"Hundreds of people took part in today's protest, and with the exception of a few people, it was peaceful and conducted in accordance with the new law calling for their faces to be uncovered."

The hefty donations from Mr Delo and Mr Harborne have renewed calls for increased scrutiny of UK political campaign finance.

There is currently no cap on the amount of money that UK-based donors can give to political parties.

So, who are these two super-wealthy men?

Ben Delo

The 42-year-old British cryptocurrency billionaire was born in Sheffield and diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome - a form of autism - as a child.

He studied mathematics and computer science at the University of Oxford, graduating with double first-class honours.

Initially working as a software engineer at IBM in London, he then moved into financial services, relocating to Hong Kong for his role at JPMorgan.

With regard to his current location, Reform deputy leader Richard Tice confirmed to Sky News that Mr Delo has "moved back or is literally moving back" to the UK from Hong Kong.

In 2014, Mr Delo co-founded cryptocurrency platform BitMEX.

In 2022, he was convicted in the US of a Bank Secrecy Act violation, before being pardoned by President Donald Trump last year.

A self-described philanthropist, Mr Delo became one of the youngest ever signatories of The Giving Pledge in 2019, committing to giving away the majority of his wealth during his lifetime, donating to causes including maths education, free enquiry and academic freedom, the Commonwealth, and neurodiversity.

In a 2025 article, Mr Delo wrote for The Spectator, announcing his support for the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences.

He wrote: "I'm not interested in art auctions or superyachts. I'm interested in backing ideas that scale - and truth should scale better than anything else."

Mr Delo says he has given Reform the record £36m donation to ensure a "fair fight" at the polls. He made the payment up front to avoid attempts to block it.

The £36m figure represents £1m a month between now and the latest possible date of the next general election in 2029, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Writing for the newspaper, Mr Delo said: "Unlike the people who express mock concern for the health of 'our democracy' while doing everything they can to keep it as a cartel, I want a fair fight and a level playing field.

"My conclusion from Reform's recent troubles is that they should spend less time trying to raise funds to compete on equal terms and more time preparing for government."

Christopher Harborne

Billionaire Christopher Harborne, 63, has donated millions to Reform UK over the years, with his previous largest donation a £9 million gift in August last year.

That has now been trumped by his £36m donation, matching that of Mr Delo.

Born near Sheffield and educated at the fee-paying Westminster School, he studied engineering at Cambridge University, where he was a keen rower.

Describing himself on his LinkedIn profile as an "engineer, pilot and investor", he made his money in the aviation field, defence and investment, and in cryptocurrency.

Based in Thailand since 1996, he has a second Thai name - Chakrit Sakunkrit, as well as a Thai passport, and a wellness resort on Koh Samui.

Writing in the Telegraph about his record donation to Reform, Mr Harborne said the party required funds for its infrastructure, saying it "needs more money than can be provided by membership fees alone".

He added: "What do I expect in return for my donations? Nothing, personally. No peerage, no policy change, just a party that is ready for government.

"I have already accumulated enough wealth for the rest of my life. I am now committed to putting that to work for Britain and humanity as a whole."

He previously made large donations to the Conservatives under Boris Johnson and accompanied the former prime minister on a two-day trip to Ukraine in 2023.

Mr Harborne has also previously given to Nigel Farage's private office.

An investigation is currently underway into a £5m gift given by Mr Harborne to Nigel Farage in 2024, before he became an MP.

On another occasion, he donated more than £60,000 to the Reform leader, flying him out to Donald Trump's second inauguration.