AI stocks plunge worldwide as industry leaders call for development slowdown

AI-linked stocks fell sharply on Monday after top tech leaders backed calls to slow artificial intelligence development over growing safety concerns.

Nvidia shares closed down 3.3 percent in New York, while Advanced Micro Devices fell four percent.

Micron Technology and Sandisk dropped about five percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index fund declined 0.5 percent.

The sell-off followed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s warning that the industry should “slow down”, arguing that “building too fast is reckless”.

President Donald Trump rejected the concerns, writing on social media: “There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China. WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS!”

Trump later told an AI conference, according to the New York Times: “It’s a hoax. The robots are not going to be taking over the world. That’s not going to happen.”

The market reaction spread internationally as OpenAI investor SoftBank fell 13 percent, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company dropped 1.2 percent.

In Europe, semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML fell six percent.

The UN Security Council is expected to discuss AI next week amid growing international concern, AFP reported.