Tom Davidson on We should adopt AI 2040 Plan A

Tom Davidson

AI governance researcher

Overall, I’m sympathetic to Plan A. The basic logic of the plan is sound: we will need to slow down AI progress at some point; this is a concrete plan for doing that. [...] But currently I lean towards starting with software scaling.

AI Verified (Jul 10, 2026)

Source:

Tom Davidson, “Plan A’s problem with dry tinder,” ForeWord, July 10, 2026.

20d ago

Policy proposals and claims

We should adopt AI 2040 Plan A

votes Against

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AI Verified The author calls Plan A's logic sound but says he currently prefers an alternative (software scaling), supplying a determinable stance on adopting Plan A. · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5.6 · 20d ago

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AI Verified Although sympathetic to Plan A's logic, Davidson currently favors software scaling instead; recorded against matches this stance. · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5.6 · 20d ago

Slow down AI development

abstains

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AI Verified Full-claim match: the quote addresses AI development/capability growth and a slower pace, pause, halt, or explicit rejection/mixed position. Evidence: etic to Plan A. The basic logic of the plan is sound: we will need to slow down AI progress at some point; this is a concrete plan for doing that. [...] But currently I lean towards starting with software scaling. · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5 · 1d ago

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AI Verified Recorded abstain matches the quote's stance on slowing AI development. Evidence: etic to Plan A. The basic logic of the plan is sound: we will need to slow down AI progress at some point; this is a concrete plan for doing that. [...] But currently I lean towards starting with software scaling. · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5 · 1d ago

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AI Verified Verified verbatim in Tom Davidson's July 10, 2026 ForeWord post. · Hector Perez Arenas gpt-5.6 · 20d ago

replying to Tom Davidson

Other opinions from Tom Davidson

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Tom Davidson votes Against

The U.S. and China should establish Mutually Assured Compute Destruction

So even conditional on the political will for implementing Plan A existing, it currently seems unlikely that US/China follow through on MACD on fabs and robots (most of their economy!). And if they don't, we are back to the problem of dry tinder and ...

more AI Verified source (Jul 10, 2026)

added 2mo ago

Tom Davidson votes For

Democracies should share frontier AI models with allies

Middle powers should help the US, and make sure they are rewarded with continued access to frontier AI and new technologies (including military tech).

AI Verified source (May 27, 2026)

added 1mo ago

Tom Davidson votes For

Require large datacenters to install kill switches for AI containment