Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei has written an essay called We Must Pace the Frontier, in which he urges such companies to slow the rate at which they improve the capabilities of AI models.

It comes amid increased fears about the possible misuse of AI, with Anthropic recently revealing that several bad actors had used its Claude AI models for activities including weapons development, cyber operations, surveillance ​and fraud.

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Mr Amodei has come up with a three-part plan, part of which he said his AI company was unilaterally committed to.

In a post on X in which he commits to the "first of these steps", he writes: "We'll provide third-party evaluators with permanent, employee-level access to our systems, so that they can verify adherence to our safety measures, report on incidents, and assess models' alignment during training."

Mr Musk, the boss of X which has developed it's own 'Grok' AI, replied to the post, writing: "Dario is right."

And OpenAI boss Mr Altman wrote on X: "I agree with Dario that we need to pace the frontier. This has been a primary topic of discussions we've had at OpenAI in recent weeks.

"Committing to having independent evaluators with employee-like access is a great idea, and we will do the same. We'll have more to share soon."

Mr Altman's comments come after he revealed that OpenAI will not go public this year, citing the safety concerns.

"I actually think that, given everything happening with safety, right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public, and we don't feel pressure on that," he told Fortune magazine.

The New York Times in June reported that the company was considering whether to hold off on a potentially trillion-dollar IPO until next year.

"We got a lot of stuff to do, like meeting this moment of what is going to be required for safety and alignment, and how the industry and governments can work together," Mr Altman continued when asked about whether 2027 was more likely for them to go public.

Fortune reported that he also suggested OpenAI and other leading AI companies may be close to announcing an agreement to slow AI development and work together to address safety risks.

Mr Amodei said he was concerned that since this summer, AI has been "advancing drastically faster, driven primarily by AI's growing ability to build the next generation of AI".

And he warned that within six to 12 months AI could be capable of leading a "swarm" that could take over "the entire internet" causing "hundreds of billions of dollars in damage", among other risks.

Former prime minister Rishi Sunak wrote on X: "Dario is right to call today for slowing the pace of frontier development so that safety can keep up.

"When the labs themselves are asking for speed limits, governments should listen."

He added that "even as the US and China compete, they urgently need a frank conversation about how to avoid catastrophe".

Evan Hubinger, a top safety researcher at Anthropic, recently said there is a more than 10% chance that "AI could kill all humans" in the next decade.

And researcher Jacob Coxon ⁠resigned from Anthropic amid fears the company and OpenAI "are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives".

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Mr Amodei said he was not calling for stopping model training or technical progress, but making sure companies take enough time to align and ‌safeguard their models, and for third-party evaluators to confirm these steps.

What are his proposed three steps?

• Embedded evaluators. Each frontier AI company commits to giving ongoing, employee-like access to a team of embedded third-party evaluators (such as METR), whose role is to verify adherence to safety practices and commitments, report incidents, and help assess the alignment of not just completed AI models but training pipelines and processes.

This is the key step for verifiability of any pacing commitments, and has precedent in the banking industry, which sometimes involves regulatory "supervisors" embedded along with employees. Anthropic is unilaterally committing to this step now. We intend this to be part of a broader push to redouble efforts on our safety and alignment work.

• Democratic coordination. Frontier AI companies within democratic countries coordinate to establish common safety standards as well as limits on the rate of unchecked AI progress. Some forms of coordination that would be impactful for pacing are legally challenging, and will require government support.

• Global coordination. The US and other democratic governments attempt to coordinate with authoritarian governments, to the extent this is possible, while taking seriously the challenges of verifying compliance.

At least 102 people were rescued and the body of a passenger was recovered as the search operation expanded in waters around the vessel's last known position.

The country's search and rescue agency said the Virgo Transport 8 ship set sail on Saturday from Surabaya, East Java, to the South Kalimantan city of Banjarmasin on Borneo before losing contact.

"At the time of this statement, the ship cannot be contacted and its whereabouts are unknown," the agency said.

The Search and Rescue Office in Banjarmasin said it received a report that the ship had experienced a communication failure, with initial information indicating the vessel's last known position was about 92 miles (148km) from one of the city's piers.

The ship's operator, PT Virgo Yoel Rihi, reported the loss of contact and said the vessel departed from Surabaya on Saturday at 10.13am local time (4.13pm UK time).

The Search and Rescue Office said it received a report two hours after contact was lost with the ship at around 2am on Sunday.

A rescue team was dispatched to Banjarmasin's Basirih Search and Rescue pier, and a rescue ship headed to the vessel's estimated last known position. A helicopter, tugboats and other vessels were used in the recovery effort.

I Putu Sudayana, who heads the Search and Rescue Office, said authorities were mobilising all available personnel and assets because of the large number of crew and passengers who were on board.

He said the agency was coordinating with maritime authorities and other relevant agencies in the search, while closely monitoring weather conditions.

The ship's captain had earlier reported rough seas with waves up to 3m (10ft) before issuing a distress message, saying the ship was tilting, Mr Sudayana said.

Authorities later received information indicating the vessel had overturned, he added.

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The incident comes a month after five people died when a ferry caught fire off Madura island, just across from Surabaya.

Indonesia, an archipelago made up of around 17,000 islands, relies heavily on ferries to travel between islands, with sea routes more affordable and readily available than air travel.

However, safety standards are not always strictly enforced, which results in a relatively high accident rate.

Performing in Paris on Saturday to a sold-out crowd of tens of thousands, an emotional Dion told her adoring fans that it was "amazing we are all together".

"I made a promise. I made a promise to come back and to be back on stage," she added.

"Here I am singing for you, and singing for me.

"Thank you so very much for your support, your patience. I am everything I am because you love me.

"The path was rocky, the road was longer ​than planned, but I held on."

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney paid tribute to her return on social media by referencing one of her biggest hits.

"It's all coming back," Mr Carney wrote on X. "Congratulations on an incredible return to the stage after six long years."

The French-Canadian singer took a break from performing after revealing her stiff person syndrome (SPS) diagnosis in December 2022, which forced her to cancel a world tour.

SPS is a rare neurological disorder that causes progressive muscular stiffness and spasms. According to the NHS, there is currently no cure for the autoimmune disease.

The five-time Grammy winner's long-awaited comeback was revealed on her birthday on 30 March, when she posted on social media, expressing her excitement in a video message.

Dion extended her residency at the La Defense Arena to 16 concerts due to popular demand, with further shows taking place until 14 October, and a further 10 dates in 2027. She will perform her biggest hits in both French and English during the concerts.

Fans were also quick to praise Dion over her health issues, with British fan Catherine Rushforth telling Reuters as she was leaving the arena: "She didn't shy ‌away from what she suffered, and she shared it with her audience."

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The 58-year-old previously cancelled her Las Vegas residency due to health concerns in 2021, revealing her SPS diagnosis the following year.

During her break from performing, Dion had a brief cameo singing in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in 2024 and had repeatedly expressed her desire to return to the stage.

US authorities allegedly raided the diplomat's London flat last month, seizing him and taking him to a US airbase for removal, The Sun reported.

US personnel have no powers of arrest in the UK and, The Sun reported, there was no formal request to extradite the man.

UK ministers are understood to be in contact with the US embassy over the incident.

The man's seizure is reported to be related to an investigation into another person in the US.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "On Tuesday August 25, US authorities made us aware of an investigation they are conducting into suspected offences in London relating to indecent images of children.

"We continue to liaise with them regarding this matter."

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A UK government spokesperson said: "We expect all foreign diplomats in the UK to abide by our laws, in the same way we expect all UK diplomats to do so when posted overseas.

"As a US investigation is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage."

The Press Association has contacted the US embassy for comment.

People were not wearing masks at either rally on Saturday after Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said anyone defying the warning could be arrested under powers in the Crime and Policing Act.

Sky's Dan Whitehead, reporting from the scene, said both groups gathered outside the Guildhall in the city "chanting for a couple of hours".

"The counter-protest, led by Stand Up to Racism, left... and what happened then is around 100 or so of the anti-migration protest splintered off and essentially chased them through the streets in Portsmouth."

He said that some of the anti-migration protesters were "following those counter-protesters, as they went back to the start point where many of them have parked their cars and so forth, gathering there and shouting abuse at them".

"That's resulted certainly in a lot of scuffles."

Whitehead said police officers have been trying to keep the two groups separate and that "poses challenges when they are splintering down different side roads and down different avenues".

He said: "We saw those protesters chasing down the counter-protesters, and that's created quite a challenge for the officers."

A number of arrests

A man was arrested on suspicion of the criminal damage of a police vehicle at the anti-immigration protest.

An officer at the scene in Portsmouth said the man was walking with a breakaway group after the majority of the protesters had dispersed.

Hampshire Police later said a 76-year-old man from Southampton was arrested on suspicion of wearing/using an item to conceal identity at a protest.

And a 33-year-old man from Portsmouth was arrested on suspicion of obstructing a highway.

The demonstrations come nearly a week after police officers were injured and vehicles damaged during an anti-migrant protest in Portsmouth.

Demonstrators clashed with police when migrants, who travelled from France on a dinghy, arrived at the port last Sunday.

Hampshire Police also said a 16-year-old boy from Portsmouth was arrested at this Saturday's protest on suspicion of violent disorder, in relation to violent public disorder at last Sunday's protest.

The protesters last weekend blocked roads for hours and vowed to stay all night in the second major anti-migrant demonstration in two days, following a similar action in Dover last Saturday.

In the latest demo in Portsmouth this Saturday, protesters held Union flags as the crowd chanted "stop the boats".

A group of counter-demonstrators displayed Stand Up To Racism and Refugees Welcome banners.

Signs included: "RNLI are heroes, no-one is illegal" and "stop pretending your racism is patriotism".

RNLI volunteers and staff have faced abuse from anti-migrant protesters over their rescue work bringing some small boat migrants ashore.

Anti-migrant demonstrators marched to Guildhall Square and the counter-protest followed behind on the same route.

A man could be seen wearing a face covering. He was on a mobility scooter and wore a plastic face mask.

He was stopped by police at the square. Officers spoke to him about the policing powers in place and he then removed the mask and continued on his way.

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The two groups were then assembled to face each other on opposite sides of the square, some shouting at each other.

Both groups were given specific locations at which they could gather under protest conditions.

Hampshire Police have said: "We will support those who want to express their views peacefully and lawfully, but we will not tolerate those whose only aim is to create fear and incite violence."

The force added that failure to comply with conditions could lead to arrest.

Hampshire police and crime commissioner Donna Jones said: "I'm pleased that today's protests in Portsmouth took place without major issue.

"Thankfully we didn't see repeated scenes of Sunday night with assaults on police officers and criminal damage to police vehicles and people's property.

"Hundreds of people took part in today's protest, and with the exception of a few people, it was peaceful and conducted in accordance with the new law calling for their faces to be uncovered."