# Researchers outline hardware-based pause for frontier AI training

> A 26-member group examines the feasibility of a mutually verified pause of at least 10 years; the proposal is not in force.

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- Section: Technology
- Country: United States
- Published: 2026-10-11T15:19:59+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-11T15:19:59+00:00
- Event / data period: 2026-10-09
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The Working Group on AI Pause Feasibility, which includes scholars affiliated with Berkeley, Princeton, Stanford, Harvard and Oxford, released version 1.0 of a working paper on October 9. The 26 researchers examine a scenario in which governments agree to pause frontier AI model training for at least 10 years. They say their task is to assess feasibility, not whether a pause is desirable.

The proposal centers on halting production of new AI training chips, retiring existing training capacity over time and shifting to inference-focused chips for approved models. The report also discusses mutual monitoring and ways to detect violations. This is a policy design advanced by researchers; it is not a government-adopted agreement, ban or current rule.

## Data

### Working group and scenario

Group size and minimum duration examined in the working paper dated October 9.

Methodology: Group size follows the report’s working-group count; minimum duration comes from its hypothetical proposal scenario. It is a proposed target, not an adopted or realized policy.

| label | value | unit | period | basis | value_qualifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Working group researchers | 26 | people | 2026-10-09 | observed |  |
| Proposed minimum pause duration | 10 | years | 2026-10-09 | target | lower-bound |

Sources: <https://hardwired-pause.ai/paper>, <https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/news/global-hardwired-pause-frontier-ai-training-feasible> · Download data: [JSON](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/researchers-outline-hardwired-frontier-ai-pause-2026/data/pause-report-scope?lang=en&format=json) · [CSV](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/researchers-outline-hardwired-frontier-ai-pause-2026/data/pause-report-scope?lang=en&format=csv)

## Sources

- [Working Group on AI Pause Feasibility](<https://hardwired-pause.ai/paper>) (Source checked: 2026-10-11; Published: 2026-10-09)
- [UC Berkeley Research](<https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/news/global-hardwired-pause-frontier-ai-training-feasible>) (Source checked: 2026-10-11; Published: 2026-10-09)

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