Chip Stocks Under Pressure in Pre-Market, SK Hynix Leads Decline
During the pre-market trading session on the evening of September 13 (Beijing Time), the US semiconductor sector showed broad weakness. By 22:12, shares of South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix had fallen below the $185 mark, declining more than 4% and ranking among the sector's biggest losers.
Industry Heavyweights See Widespread Losses
The sell-off was not confined to SK Hynix. Other major chipmakers, including Micron Technology, Seagate Technology, and SanDisk, also saw pre-market drops exceeding 3%. Even NVIDIA, a recent market favorite, was not immune, with its shares down over 2%, reflecting a cautious mood across the board.
AI Safety Debate Gains Traction, Unusual Consensus Among Leaders
Parallel to the chip market movements, a significant debate concerning the pace of AI development versus safety measures is capturing attention. According to reports from China Fund News, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei proposed on Sunday that the industry should slow the development of its most advanced AI models and introduce independent third-party auditors for enhanced safety.
Musk and Altman Voice Support
The proposal quickly garnered support from key industry figures. OpenAI founder Sam Altman publicly backed the idea. More notably, xAI founder Elon Musk responded succinctly on social media, stating, "Dario is right." This represents a rare public alignment on an issue among leaders who often differ on commercial and technological approaches.
Other Market Signals Amid Volatility
Following sharp losses in the previous session, the international crude oil market staged a rebound in pre-market trading on September 13. At the time of writing, both Brent crude and WTI futures were up over 1.5%, indicating diverging trends in commodity markets.
The collective downturn in chip stocks, coupled with the intensifying discussion on AI ethics and safety, may signal subtle shifts in technology investment logic. Market participants appear to be looking beyond pure growth metrics, increasingly weighing the potential risks and long-term sustainability underlying rapid technological advancement.