OpenAI said it was working with Anthropic and Google on an idea that originated from a proposal by Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis for a self-regulatory body modelled after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that oversees US brokers and investment firms.

In July, Hassabis called for the United States to create an organisation that would test the most powerful AI systems before they are released to the public.

“Funding would need to be substantial and likely mostly come from industry, in order to attract world-class technical talent and provide the necessary compute resources for large-scale testing,” Hassabis wrote.

There is no consensus on how to move forward, though.

The chief of Canadian AI company Cohere recently accused the dominant American AI labs of forming a “cartel” under the guise of safety.

“AI needs guardrails. That is not the dispute and never has been. The dispute is over who writes them, who gets to participate and whose interests the rules are protecting,” Cohere co-founder and CEO Aiden Gomez wrote in a blog post on Sunday.

Concerns about AI safety have escalated in recent weeks, including warnings from two workers who resigned from major AI developers amid concerns about the industry’s risks.

Last week, Jacob Coxon left Anthropic and warned that AI companies were “gambling with our lives.” He also previously worked at OpenAI.

On Monday, former Google DeepMind researcher Bilal Chughtai echoed the concerns raised by Coxon and others.

“I earnestly believe that AI has the potential to kill us all, and that we might be running out of time to avoid this outcome,” Chughtai wrote on social media.

On Saturday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a slowdown in the pace of AI development, a sentiment that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Elon Musk and Hassabis all supported.

US President Donald Trump has however, dismissed warnings about the risks of AI as “hoaxes.” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has also pushed back.

“The confluence of these words and then the prediction is alarming and troubling and it shouldn’t be done. It’s irresponsible,” Huang said Monday at a conference in Los Angeles where Trump called him while he was on stage.

The dire outlook that AI could destroy humanity “is not grounded on science,” Huang said.

In a text-based correspondence with Dawn on Tuesday night, the former Pakistan fast bowler said the stories circulating in the media about his exit were baseless. “No resignation, it’s fake news,” Aaqib wrote.

The comments come a day after multiple outlets, citing internal sources, reported that PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi was preparing radical changes to stem Pakistan’s recent decline. These included the potential release of Aaqib from his role as senior selector and the possible removal of Wahab Riaz as mentor of the women’s team after the Asian Games in Japan.

Aaqib, a member of Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup-winning side, has been a central figure in PCB decision-making over the past two years. He serves on the national selection committee and as director of high performance.

Critics have held him responsible for frequent changes in coaching staff and captaincy, as well as the controversial mid-series overhaul during the recent Test tour of England.

After Pakistan lost the second Test at Lord’s, the board sent seven players home and replaced head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul. The side ultimately suffered a 3-0 whitewash and dropped to the bottom of the World Test Championship table. Selection panel colleague Misbahul Haq resigned in the aftermath, but Aaqib had earlier made clear he had no intention of stepping down.

Reports have suggested that white-ball coach Mike Hesson’s willingness to oversee the Test side may have influenced the latest rethink. Aaqib has previously defended the England changes, arguing the team had failed to compete and that a shift in mindset was required.

The government on Tuesday increased the price of petrol by Rs4.10 per litre and that of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs6.41 per litre.

Following the revision, petrol will retail at Rs384.34 per litre while HSD will cost Rs415.83 per litre. The government continues to levy Rs114 per litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 per litre on diesel.

According to the Petroleum Division’s notification, the new prices will be applicable on Sept 16 (Wednesday).

The price of HSD has come down from a peak of Rs520.35 recorded on April 3. Its price had started rising from Rs281 per litre after the US-Iran war broke out on February 28.

The petrol price had peaked at Rs458.41 on April 3 after beginning its upward trajectory from Rs266 in the first week of March.

On September 13, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a “relief scheme” for users of motorcycles, autos and vehicles of up to 800cc to “alleviate the burden” of rising global oil prices.

A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said owners of two- and three-wheelers would receive relief of Rs100 per litre on a monthly quota of 20 litres, while owners of vehicles up to 800cc would receive the same relief on a monthly quota of 30 litres.

On July 17, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik announced that fuel prices would now be fixed on a daily basis due to fluctuations in international market prices following renewed hostilities between Iran and the US.

Prior to this, the government had been announcing weekly revisions to fuel prices since early March, alongside measures for the conservation of fuel amid possible oil supply disruptions due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The federal government in April also announced targeted relief measures to provide subsidised fuel.

The petroleum minister stated that the cabinet and the prime minister had decided to give the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) the responsibility of deciding fuel prices on a daily basis based on international market trends.

Petrol is mainly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers, and changes in its price affect the middle and lower-middle classes.

Similarly, changes in diesel prices also impact the public at large, as it is mainly used in the heavy transport sector, power plants and large generators.

Petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) are the major revenue earners, with monthly sales of about 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes, compared to just 10,000 tonnes of monthly demand for kerosene.