Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic Quietly Aligned the Rules of the Game While the New Administration Pushes for Acceleration

The big three tuned their safety notes before political mandates change

According to TechCrunch, negotiations have taken place in recent weeks between OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind regarding a joint approach to AI safety. OpenAI confirmed the initiative. These discussions are occurring at a time when the incoming Trump administration has clearly declared its intent to step away from previous regulatory constraints and focus primarily on ensuring the US does not lose pace against China.

These meetings were held out of the public eye and reportedly focused on sharing practices for testing and identifying vulnerabilities in frontier models before federal political changes take effect.

The market sees the difference between a safety pact and a cartel forming

For startups and the open-source community, the convergence of these three giants is a massive warning sign. It means an exclusive club is forming that can de facto dictate the “safe” standard for the entire industry. If market leaders agree on costly certification processes or mandatory checkpoints, it presents an insurmountable barrier to entry for smaller players.

While outwardly the trio argues they are protecting against existential risks, critics from The Verge see it as an effort to establish a regulatory moat that stifles unwanted competition under the guise of safety. Just as the state begins to hit the gas, the big players are trying to define the brakes in a way that suits them.

Government priorities erase former limits but create new friction points

Although the new administration is canceling previous safety requirements, this does not mean these companies are getting absolute freedom. On the contrary, the conflict is shifting from “danger to humanity” to “national security”. Models will have to pass through a sieve of assessment for military use and technological embargoes against foreign actors. What OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google agree on today as an internal standard could tomorrow become a Department of Defense requirement for government contracts.

The limit of this convergence, however, is the massive distrust among the actors themselves. OpenAI needs to grow, Anthropic profiles itself as the responsible one, and Google plays its own infrastructural game. Keeping this alliance together without external coercion will be extremely difficult.

The key signal will be opening the agreed standards to outside audit

How serious the big three are about protection and not just protectionism will become clear when they publish the outcomes of their agreements. The deciding factor will be whether they create a closed evaluation framework accessible only to themselves, or whether they allow third parties and academia to independently audit their safety methodology. If it stays behind closed doors, the illusion of caring for humanity will quickly shatter.

Lilith's verdict

When the three biggest brawlers in a bar agree to introduce rules of polite behavior, they rarely do it to protect the guests. They do it so the bouncer only stands at their table.