The "Pacing AI" Debate | Nico Wittenborn, Scott Keogh, Mitchell Green, David Rosenthal & Ben Gilbert, Faraj Aalaei

September 14, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

“If there’s even a one percent chance that AI can find a prevention for RABDO, it’s worth any amount of risk. Pushing forward.” That quip, from a host recovering from rhabdomyolysis, set the tone for a sprawling episode of TBPN that landed in the middle of the most contentious weekend in recent AI history. The throughline was the "pacing AI" debate—a coordinated push by frontier labs to slow development—and the episode unpacked its origins, the specific proposals, the accusations of regulatory capture, and the surprising reactions from figures like Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Along the way, the conversation branched into the state of consumer AI, the reindustrialization of American car manufacturing, the mechanics of Home Depot’s dominance, and the future of chip design.

The Pacing AI Timeline and Dario Amodei’s Three-Step Plan

The episode traced the "pacing the frontier" narrative back to an open letter on July 28th, signed by employees from OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepMind, and Meta. Sam Altman publicly agreed the same day, and by August 18th, OpenAI published a paper on pacing model development, including a two-week training pause. The real catalyst came on September 12th, when Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay titled "We Must Pace the Frontier." The hosts walked through his three-step proposal in detail.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:04) **Show Open & Host Banter** - The hosts kick off the show with an ad read, discuss a host's recent hospitalization for Rhabdomyolysis, and preview the lineup of guests for the episode.
2 (04:30) **The "Pacing the Frontier" Timeline** - The host provides a detailed chronological history of the "Pacing the Frontier" debate, from its origins in July to the weekend's events.
3 (07:29) **Dario's Three-Step Plan for Pacing** - The host breaks down the three key proposals from Dario Amodei's essay, highlighting the controversy around each.
4 (11:08) **Pushback from David Sacks and Others** - The host reads David Sacks' critical response to Dario's post, accusing the labs of trying to form a cartel and mask regulatory capture.
5 (13:30) **President Trump's Reaction to the AI Debate** - The host reads a series of social media posts from Donald Trump, who rejects calls for an AI slowdown and accuses the labs of a conspiracy.
6 (17:00) **Trump's AI Video & Gavin Baker's Analysis** - The hosts watch a clip of Trump discussing AI and then analyze a comprehensive roundup of the weekend's events from investor Gavin Baker.
7 (22:12) **The Business Case for Slowing Down** - The hosts debate whether Dario's proposals are genuinely for safety or are actually good for Anthropic's business in the long run.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

David Rosenthal Ben Gilbert

Show Notes

(04:30) - The "Pacing AI" Debate
(27:51) - Nico Wittenborn discusses his journey from growing up in Germany and selling refurbished iPhones to founding Adjacent, a solo-GP venture firm. He shares his investment strategy across consumer subscriptions, AI, hardware, and European technology, highlighting investments such as Speechify, Oura, Revolut, and Bending Spoons.
(01:00:18) - Scott Keogh, CEO of Scout Motors and an automotive industry veteran, discusses reviving the iconic American SUV brand as a modern manufacturer of rugged electric vehicles. He outlines Scout’s U.S. manufacturing expansion, direct-to-consumer sales and service strategy, and plans to deliver durable, driver-focused SUVs and trucks beginning in 2028.
(01:32:21) - Mitchell Green, founder and managing partner of Lead Edge Capital, discusses the resilience of enterprise software, AI-driven disruption, and the importance of strong balance sheets for continued innovation. He also explores America’s accelerating wealth creation, booming luxury-asset markets, AI regulation and cybersecurity risks, and opportunities to acquire mature, overcapitalized technology companies.
(02:00:00) - David Rosenthal discusses how he and Ben Gilbert research companies for "Acquired", focusing on Home Depot’s extraordinary growth and status as the best-performing U.S. public stock since its 1981 IPO. He highlights its scale, employee ownership culture, professional customer base, e-commerce strategy, and resilience through leadership challenges and changing retail trends.
(02:31:32) - Faraj Aalaei discusses his four decades in semiconductors and his role as founder and CEO of Cognichip, following two successful semiconductor startups. He explains how Cognichip’s specialized AI aims to dramatically reduce chip development time, cost, and risk by automating routine engineering tasks and enabling designers to focus on innovation.

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