AI executives' calls to slow development of the technology are likely to weigh on chipmaker and supply-chain stocks in the near term, but will probably have limited long-term impact as spending on computing infrastructure remains strong, market watchers say.
Shares of South Korean memory maker Samsung Electronics Co. fell as much as 4.1% early Monday while peer SK Hynix Inc. slumped 5.8%, as investors assessed whether the more cautious approach to developing advanced models will crimp their earnings. In Japan, chip equipment maker Advantest Corp. dropped 4.7% while storage maker Kioxia Holdings Corp. slid 9.3%.
Calls for restraint have grown in the industry, with Anthropic Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei saying Saturday that the company would introduce additional safeguards, including independent third-party evaluations, and urged the broader industry to slow the pace of development of their most advanced models. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman backed the proposal, while xAI's Elon Musk said "Dario is right."
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Still, with demand for chips, energy and computing power continuing to outstrip supply, any weakness in tech harwdare stocks may prove short-lived. Investors including Gary Tan, a portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments in Singapore, are doubtful the latest developments will have long-lasting effects on the industry.
"It may cause some short-term pressure, but it's unlikely to derail the longer-term AI trade," Tan said. "AI development is still at a relatively early stage, and I'm not sure the rest of the ecosystem is willing to accept the current pecking order and slow down while the technology continues to evolve so rapidly."
