Dario Amodei leads Anthropic using 'essay-length debates' on Slack. Leadership experts say it's bold but could cause 'analysis paralysis.' (www.businessinsider.com)

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has adopted a “written-first” leadership style: he posts long, essay-like strategic notes on Slack that spark extensive, essay-length debates across the company. Engineers say the threads act as living documents—exposing his reasoning, surfacing pros/cons on tough trade-offs, and creating a coherent, company-wide model of how leadership is thinking about AGI development. The practice both documents Anthropic’s intellectual evolution and lets employees challenge decisions in line-by-line written form, which proponents say improves traceability and collective rigor. Leadership experts say the approach offers clear benefits for AI/ML teams—greater transparency, a durable audit trail of choices, and deeper deliberation on safety and research direction—but it also carries real risks. Critics warn it can slow decisions, foster “analysis paralysis,” and distance leaders from conversational dynamics that suit some team members; writing-heavy cultures may exclude those who communicate better verbally. Observers recommend a hybrid: rigorous written prework for clarity and recordkeeping combined with focused live meetings to pressure-test assumptions and drive execution. For AI organizations working on high-stakes systems, the trade-off is particularly salient: detailed, documented reasoning aids alignment and accountability, but must be balanced against the need for timely action and inclusive communication.