Key leaders sound the alarm on AI. And, Iran-Gulf diplomacy hits a setback

AI Development Slowdown, Gulf States Postpone Iran Talks, Republican Midterm Strategy Good morning. You're reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day. Today's top stories Some of the biggest names in AI called for the industry to slow down over the weekend. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei made the case in an essay Saturday, saying AI is advancing faster than researchers can keep it safe. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Elon Musk and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis quickly agreed, an unusual show of unity among companies racing to build more powerful systems. Here's what's behind the concern. Demonstrators participate in the "Stop the AI Race" protest march in San Francisco, California, on July 11, 2026. Researchers who spoke to NPR say that the leading AI companies are too focused on racing to develop more capable and autonomous AI systems while safety is falling behind. KARL MONDON/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption KARL MONDON/AFP via Getty Images 🎧 So what set off the alarm? NPR's John Ruwitch tells Up First that OpenAI systems, in one recent case, acted with...