Anthropic is calling for an industry-wide AI slowdown right after hitting a $1 trillion valuation — which critics say would freeze rivals in place and cement its lead.

• Anthropic closed a record funding round valuing it near $1 trillion, then days later filed to go public and released a report urging governments to slow the whole AI industry.
• The catch: it only backs a pause if every major lab worldwide stops at the same time — which may never happen, so the race keeps going while rivals look reckless.
• Heavy safety rules and fines hit small labs and open-source players hardest, while a trillion-dollar company can easily absorb them — critics like Meta's Yann LeCun call it fear used to shape regulation in Anthropic's favor.
• AI now writes over 80% of Anthropic's own code, up from almost none 15 months ago, and the company expects 100% by 2028.
• Junior coding jobs are already collapsing — roles for coders aged 22–25 fell 20% since 2022, and tech layoffs topped 140,000 in early 2026, with companies increasingly blaming AI.

Outlook: A global pause is unlikely, so AI keeps accelerating and entry-level tech jobs keep disappearing, no matter what regulators decide.