Anthropic Chooses Accenture as First Embedded Evaluator for AI Safety Work

Anthropic said it has chosen Accenture as its first embedded evaluator to help slow the pace of AI development, following a proposal from CEO Dario Amodei. Amodei published a three-step proposal on Sept. 12 calling for slower AI development so safeguards can be put in place amid warnings about the potential for catastrophic harm from rapid, unchecked progress. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk responded positively to the proposal, while Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang argued that such regulation was not necessary. Amodei said AI has been advancing faster because of its growing ability to build the next generation of AI, describing the process as recursive self-improvement and warning that, if left unchecked, it could outrun human ability to understand and control these systems. Anthropic said the first step in Amodei’s proposal is to use independent evaluators with employee-like access, a commitment the company had already made. According to Cointelegraph, Anthropic announced on Friday that it is moving toward that goal by partnering with Accenture and its AI business Faculty to evaluate and red-team models, conduct alignment assessments, and test model safeguards. The company said details of how the arrangement will work are still being developed because embedded evaluation is a new approach. Anthropic and Accenture each expect to invest at least $1 billion in the project over the next five years. Anthropic also said there is no existing system for funding independent evaluation, so long-term support should come from pooled or government sources, but it will fund Accenture’s work directly because of the urgency of the effort. The partnership is non-exclusive, and Anthropic expects to announce additional evaluators in the coming weeks. Accenture said its Faculty unit has experience testing and evaluating models for leading AI labs and building complex AI systems designed to be safe and ethical by design. Julie Sweet, chair and CEO of Accenture, said embedded evaluation is an emerging area and that the company looks forward to helping accelerate its development as part of the safety landscape going forward.