Jack Dorsey Opposes AI Pacing Plans, Calls for Open‑Source Development

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Block, entered the debate over how quickly frontier AI should be developed. He criticized proposals that would place AI pacing decisions in the hands of governments and leading AI firms, and advocated for open‑source releases, independent evaluation, and public funding for shared compute resources.

Key Points of Dorsey’s Position

• Dorsey supports scrutiny and independent evaluation of AI systems but rejects industry‑wide limits negotiated by current leaders.
• He calls for open releases so outsiders can reproduce results, expose failures, and build alternatives without needing lab approval.
• Dorsey argues that neither the U.S. nor Chinese governments should decide how much AI intelligence can be developed.

Block’s Open‑Source AI Efforts

• In 2025 Block launched “goose,” an open‑source AI agent that can be customized to work with any model.
• July 2026 saw the release of “Buzz,” an open‑source workspace built on the Nostr protocol, offering cryptographic identities for humans and AI agents.
• Block continues to support Bitcoin through holdings, mining hardware (Proto), and a hardware wallet (Bitkey), while also expanding Lightning Network infrastructure via its Spiral initiative.

Potential Impact of AI Pacing Proposals

• If top AI labs adopt the suggested pacing and oversight, Block could face fewer model options and slower access to new AI capabilities.
• Restrictions might hinder the development of agentic payment systems that rely on fast AI integration, such as Block’s plans for Bitcoin‑based agentic commerce.
• Dorsey’s stance aligns with broader industry voices, including Elon Musk and Sam Altman, who have expressed concerns about government‑driven AI limits.

Broader Context

• The debate follows Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s call for third‑party evaluators and coordinated government oversight of advanced AI models.
• Political figures in the U.S. have also weighed in, with some warning that heavy regulation could stifle innovation and advantage rival nations.