1,100 AI professionals call on the US to put the brakes on AI development

More than 1,100 employees from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta have signed an open letter. In it, they call on the US government to develop international tools that would allow the ‘frontier’ of automated AI development to be deliberately slowed down when necessary.

 

The letter is striking because it does not come from outsiders or interest groups. The signatories themselves work at the world’s largest AI labs. Among them are two co-founders of Anthropic, Jack Clark and Jared Kaplan, OpenAI’s chief scientist Jakub Pachocki, and Meta’s chief scientist Shengjia Zhao.

The crux of the matter centres on what the sector refers to as ‘Recursive Self-Improvement’. This is the point at which AI can develop itself. Anthropic previously announced that its Claude models are rapidly approaching that threshold. What happens if a model builds its own successor faster than we can keep up?

 

Not a pause, but a brake

“We ask the US government to support an international effort to develop the technical and governance tools needed to consciously pace the frontier of automated AI development,” the letter states. It is therefore not about an immediate halt.

According to the signatories, there is a real risk that the development of capabilities will outpace humanity’s ability to understand or control these systems. Every company and every country is under competitive pressure not to be the first to hit the brakes, and that is where the problem lies.

For organisations integrating AI into business-critical processes, the letter highlights a fundamental dilemma. Whilst the market demands faster automation and autonomous agents, the developers themselves warn against a loss of control. This is because, as soon as AI systems begin to improve their own code and architecture through Recursive Self-Improvement, traditional IT audits and risk models immediately fall short.

The letter is part of a broader trend. As early as 2023, an open letter was published calling for a pause in advanced AI development. Shortly afterwards, OpenAI, Microsoft, Google and Anthropic jointly established the Frontier Model Forum, focused on safe development.

 

Regulation is gaining momentum

The debate gained further momentum after an OpenAI model broke out of its sandbox and hacked into Hugging Face’s systems. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described this as “a stark reminder of what is at stake”. The Trump administration has so far taken a light-touch approach to regulation, fearing that overly stringent legislation would put the US at a disadvantage in the race with China, but pressure is steadily mounting. Several governments are now having models tested in advance. It had previously been reported that Google, Microsoft and xAI also have their AI models tested by the government beforehand.

The initiative also highlights the growing divide in international AI governance. Whilst the European Union is committed to stringent legislation through the AI Act, the US approach currently relies on voluntary testing and industry initiatives. For international enterprises, this risks creating a complex and fragmented playing field, in which technological frameworks and compliance requirements vary significantly from region to region.

There is also unease within the labs themselves. Anthropic previously stood by Claude’s guardrails despite pressure from the Pentagon. Proposals for oversight, however, vary. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei advocates for an independent agency modelled on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which could test models and, if necessary, halt their deployment. Google DeepMind boss Demis Hassabis wants companies to voluntarily share models for review up to 30 days before release.

Source: ICT / Magazine 29 july 2026

 

 

 

ByeleX Newsletter June 2026

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This months’ newsletter: The Private Cloud on the rise – The shift from Human Web to  Agentic Web – The hidden cost of AI – The battle between AI models and their performance – Physical AI: the next round of investment – Humanoids no longer Science Fiction..

Why the private cloud is regaining its strategic position in modern IT

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De cloud more private then public

For years, the direction of IT seemed clear. Organisations moved applications and data to the public cloud, attracted by scalability, flexibility and the convenience of services that are immediately available. As the public cloud matures, organisations are discovering that not every workload has the same requirements.

The cloud is increasingly coming home

For years, the direction seemed clear: organisations were moving applications and data to the public cloud because of its scalability, flexibility and ease of use. For many standard applications, this remains a logical choice. Nevertheless, there is a growing realisation that not every workload has the same requirements. For business-critical systems, performance, availability, control and predictable costs are becoming increasingly important. That is why the private cloud is once again taking on a prominent role, not as a replacement for the public cloud, but as part of a hybrid strategy.

This trend is being driven by stricter regulations, the growing focus on digital sovereignty, the rise of AI and changes in the virtualisation landscape, such as Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware. As a result, organisations are once again asking questions about data location, cost control, resilience and control over their IT environment.

Control over flexibility

Whereas cloud adoption initially revolved mainly around speed and scalability, the focus is now on predictability. Executives want control over costs, performance, availability and risks. Particularly in sectors such as healthcare, logistics and industry, IT has become an integral part of the core business process. The question is therefore not only how quickly an organisation can scale up, but above all how quickly it can recover following a disruption.

Local infrastructure is gaining new value

More and more organisations are choosing to keep certain data and applications closer to their operations. Local processing offers advantages for real-time processes and helps to meet stricter requirements regarding privacy, compliance and data protection. As a result, the role of the private cloud within a hybrid infrastructure is growing, with the most suitable environment being determined on a per-application basis.

Digital sovereignty and AI

Digital sovereignty has become a strategic issue. Organisations want to know where their data is located, which legislation it is subject to, and how dependent they are on major technology suppliers. Private and hybrid cloud models offer greater freedom of choice and control.

AI is also accelerating this development. AI workloads require significant computing power and rapid access to large volumes of data. Local processing prevents unnecessary data traffic to external cloud environments and combines the benefits of control with the flexibility of cloud technology.

Reduced complexity

Many hybrid IT landscapes have become complex over the years. Consequently, there is a growing need for integrated platforms that combine storage, computing power, backup and data protection. This reduces the administrative burden, increases predictability and makes organisations more resilient to cyber incidents.

In addition, partly due to changes to VMware licensing, many companies are looking for alternatives that enable a phased modernisation without immediately replacing existing environments.

👉The debate is no longer about public versus private cloud. Organisations are increasingly opting for a hybrid approach, in which the most suitable infrastructure is determined on a per-workload basis. The future lies in striking a balance between flexibility, control, performance and costs, tailored to the organisation’s business objectives.

 

 

How a Renovation Demolition Contractor Became a Tokenizer

In conversation with Barry de Bruin, Director of RAZE Renovation Demolition

Anyone who knows RAZE Renovation Demolition does not initially think of FinTech or tokenization. Yet it is precisely there that a development has arisen in the recent period. Not from the technology, but from a practical entrepreneurial question.

Barry de Bruin says that it actually started with digitization of his own organization. “We had been working on better organizing processes for some time. Software helps us to tightly structure projects, calculations and planning. From that process, we came into contact with ByeleX.”

During that process, a new idea arose. If projects are increasingly organized digitally, why should the participation structure remain traditional?

“That was a logical next step for me,” says De Bruin. “We are building a franchise. Then you start thinking about how to properly organize participations and ownership. That’s where tokenization came into the picture.”

The basis for this already existed. Liqwith’s platform ‘Plaza PLUS‘ was previously developed by ByeleX, but had the function of serving a specific customer at a time. For example, solar parks in England.

That difference became decisive for the next step. Initially, De Bruin wanted to use the platform mainly for his own organization. “My first thought was simple: we use this for RAZE and for our franchise. That was the plan.” But once the system was in place, the perspective changed.

De Bruin: “When we really saw it work, we realized that it is actually much more widely applicable. Not only for renovation demolition. This can also be done for real estate, industry, maritime, leisure and greenhouse horticulture.” From that moment on, the platform began to develop from a tool to an infrastructure.

Further development is now being carried out by the Liqwith team, which has outsourced this to ByeleX. ‘We are working together on the next step. Liqwith’s FinTech knowledge provides the experience needed to further expand the platform.’ In parallel, Liqwith is working on access to the platform, governance and security.

“We have developed a model in which advisors can guide projects to the platform,” says De Bruin. “That’s important, because technology alone is not enough. You need people who structure and supervise projects.” At the moment, the initiative is in a phase in which the first projects are being prepared.

“The first project is now being prepared to be placed,” says De Bruin. “At the same time, we are in talks with various parties who want to join.”

What started as a question about digitization of a renovation demolition company grew into a platform that can connect multiple sectors.

According to De Bruin it actually is quite simple.“You start with a practical problem in your own company. And before you know it, you’re building something that will benefit many more parties.”

For more information, visit ValueExplorer.nl

Sergey Gafurov – Architect ByeleX

‘Working together with good people while solving complex problems is fun’

 

“Getting into software development came somewhat naturally to me. I think this is often where you end up if you genuinely enjoy creating computer programs and systems”


It all started in the late 1980s, when I was in middle school

‘I began by learning BASIC on a Yamaha MSX2 — a Japanese computer that was quite rare in schools in the USSR at that time. I later entered a school with specialized classes in physics and mathematics, and from there the next step was programming contests.’
Competitive programming turned out to be extremely addictive. Older friends and teachers taught Sergey mathematics and algorithms, and he eventually won several contests. As a result, Sergey was admitted to the Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science at Belarusian State University without entrance exams.

‘University gives you a profession. Mine, at least officially, is “mathematician and systems programmer”. In this way, my fascination with mathematics and problem-solving naturally led me into the software development industry.’

In 2001, Sergey was recruited by one of his professors

This professor was involved in building an expert system for Byelex. His very first task? Implementing a new version of that system in Java, making it accessible via the internet.

ByeleX

After many years of collaboration, Sergey no longer thinks in terms of locations. ‘There is no ByeleX Netherlands team, and no ByeleX Eastern Europe team. It’s just one big team working from two offices.’ That mindset shows in how projects are approached: shared responsibility, open discussion and a strong sense of collective ownership.

Business trips to the Netherlands left their mark — though not necessarily in the expected ways. ‘Yes, Amsterdam came with a few “shocking moments,”’ but Sergey quickly dismisses that as uninteresting. What stayed with him instead are simpler impressions: the view from the plane while landing, the charm of smaller cities, and the friendliness of people. ‘It’s just a nice place to visit.’

Projects to be Proud of

Over the years Sergey worked on many projects he is proud of. One example is KCStreet for ArboNed. First committed in June 2007, it has grown into a large, complex software system that has evolved technologically — from Java 6, Java EE and EJB 2.1 to Java 17, Spring Boot and Docker. It represents the combined effort of many skilled engineers and has served the customer well for almost 18 years. It is the kind of project that quietly proves its value over time. ‘Not something I’d talk about at a party,’ he admits. ‘It’s simply too serious — and maybe a bit boring.’

‘From the opposite side of the spectrum, yet another project I am proud of — and one that was much more fun — was a GPU miner application.’ This was a short project back in 2014. At the time, AMD GPUs clearly dominated GPU mining. Sergey knew nothing about the topic and was puzzled why NVIDIA was losing this competition. He taught himself GPU programming in C/C++ and NVIDIA CUDA and implemented the mining calculations in Java with standard cryptography library. Using reverse-engineered algorithms he managed to built a working miner from scratch. It never beat AMD-optimized implementations — but it did answer the why. And for Sergey, that made it worthwhile.

A Project can not be Complex enough

‘I have heard from a professor who studies human’s brain, that people need a challenging problem to solve. This is true, at least for me.’ Challenging problems stimulate the brain — even if they come with stress. Complex problems are best solved when there is somebody to discuss such a problem with. Quite often a good solution is a mutual effort which eventually ends in a successful implementation.

So, all in all – working together with good people while solving complex problems and then watching how the new software is working is fun.

Current Projects

Sergey is currently involved in multiple projects, including Byecoin, which recently delivered some satisfying engineering challenges. And beyond that? He hopes for something even more complex. ‘So let’s see, fingers crossed.’

Personal Life

‘I’ve been married once, for 29 years now. My wife is pretty much the same kind of workaholic as I am, so in that sense we’re a perfect match. I exercise regularly, usually about five times a week. In the past it was martial arts, but that turned out not to be the healthiest kind of physical activity — at least for me. These days I swim and do some cardio training. I can’t say I enjoy it very much. This is especially true on Friday evenings, when the TV and sofa look like a much better choice while I’m on my way to the swimming pool. But it feels good afterwards, and it helps me cope with stress. So I try to keep it up and think of it as a kind of maintenance procedure.

I don’t really have a hobby in the traditional sense — for me, hobbies tend to turn into projects. For example, my current project is building a device for the heating system in my house. It involves embedded programming for microcontrollers in Rust (bare-metal, self-written firmware), some soldering, and digging into schematics, datasheets, and OpenTherm protocol specifications. Although it sounds very technical, it’s a completely new area for me — and that’s what makes it fun.’

Life beyond Tech?

‘With a bit of quick thinking, I can imagine some options outside of programming and IT, but they would still fall under the broader definition of “working in tech.” So let’s put it this way: I’d probably still be solving technical problems.’

 

Nifont Naumovich – R&D Director ByeleX Eastern Europe –

A life devoted to mathematics, technology and collaboration

‘I probably would have ended up a techie anyway’

From mathematics to software development

Nifont’s love of numbers and logic was instilled in him from an early age. ‘My parents were both mathematics professors and my grandfather was a schoolteacher. It was obvious to me that I would do something with mathematics.’

In 1974, he enrolled at the newly established Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science and graduated in 1979. Since Nifont was a good student, he was offered a job at the university as a lecturer in Mathematical Cybernetics. In 1993, he obtained his PhD after successfully defending his dissertation.

The road to ByeleX

During his academic career, Nifont wrote countless programmes — both for educational purposes and industrial applications. ‘IT was still in its infancy at the time, but I was fascinated by everything: programmes, algorithms, data structures.’ Around 1994, a chance encounter changed his career forever: ‘Through friends, I met Herman Vissia, who had come here from the Netherlands to explore business opportunities. That’s how our collaboration began — first informally, later with an official partner company in Eastern Europe. From that moment on we’ve been inseparable.’

Cross-border collaboration

Nifont is very enthusiastic about the collaboration with the Dutch team:
‘The challenging assignments we were given required all our knowledge and expertise. Everything was done professionally and with respect and sympathy.’

There is also a special atmosphere within his own team in Minsk: ‘Our people are not only excellent specialists with a university background, but also open and communicative. This creates a productive, pleasant working environment.’

An event that has stayed with him is a specially organized teambuilding event on Friday the 13th: ‘We went fishing for three days, 200 kilometres from the office — almost no internet, only telephones. But… we forgot to warn the Dutch team, and on that very day, software problems arose! It led to heated discussions, but also a lot of laughter afterwards. An educational adventure.’

Impressions of the Netherlands

During his visits to the Netherlands, Nifont was impressed by the organisation and infrastructure:

‘The order, the roads with sometimes as many as twenty lanes, the public transport, the shops — everything was well organised.’ Rotterdam, with its modern architecture and boat trips, made a lasting impression, as did walks through Amsterdam and a visit to the very big zoo. A visit to Willemstad with the client and Hermans’ forest house are also among his favourite memories.

Projects to be proud of

During his long career at ByeleX, Nifont worked on many projects, but a few stand out above the rest.
The Welplaat project was special: ‘for the first time, I felt that our software really meant something to people.’ Just like the project for Sorgeloos, which was built practically from scratch in a very short time. And of course ArboNed: ‘I devoted a large part of my life to that.’

For Nifont, a project is only truly successful if it combines creativity and usefulness:

‘The best moment is when something you’ve built from scratch works well and you see that people really need it.’

He is currently working on revamping a healthcare system with modern technologies and on a project to develop an AI chatbot. ‘There’s always plenty to do.:)’

Peace, family and fishing bliss

Outside of work, Nifont also knows what gives him energy. ‘To recharge my batteries, I like to go fishing in the Polesie region, where my father comes from. I find complete peace in nature, the rivers and the marshes.’ He also enjoys spending time with his two grandsons and watching football.

His family shares his passion for mathematics: ‘My wife is also a mathematician, so our children didn’t have much choice — they both became programmers.They work with me, and to be honest, they already know more than I do. I’m proud of that.’

A life of dedication

If he hadn’t ended up in IT, Nifont thinks he might have become a biologist, writer or professional sports coach.

‘Things turned out the way they were meant to. I have devoted my life to IT, and a large, wonderful part of that is my collaboration with ByeleX.’

Mirjam Schouten, Digital Designer ByeleX

‘The magic of bringing a concept to life continues to inspire me‘

My role at ByeleX

I have been working at ByeleX since 2007, where I started as a junior Graphic Designer and have since progressed to Digital Designer. My work is varied: I design and optimise websites (mainly in WordPress) and applications using tools such as Figma, and I also create offline designs such as posters, flyers and banners. It remains special to see something grow from an idea to a tangible result.

What drives me is how I have continued to grow over the years. When I started, I never imagined I would enjoy working here for so long. That is mainly due to the wonderful team — colleagues who not only make the work enjoyable, but also inspiring and supportive.

I am proud that I remain curious about new technologies, such as the rise of AI. Where will this take us? Maybe we will soon be working with holographic interfaces!
That future intrigues me, and I like to think about how design plays a role in it.

I continue to challenge myself by exploring new tools and investigating how technology can contribute to meaningful designs. Developing applications in particular gives me a lot of satisfaction: creating something that didn’t exist before and bringing it to life for the end user. That’s the best part of my job.

Challenges and ambitions

Over the years, I have grown from an executive designer to someone who independently leads projects, contributes ideas to concepts, and bridges the gap between technology and design. In the future, I want to continue developing at the intersection of design and technology and to translate ideas into strong digital products.

The magic of bringing a concept to life continues to inspire me.

Leisure time and passions

In my spare time, I like to be active. Dancing is my outlet — it relaxes me, gives me energy, and allows me to be creative, for example by coming up with choreographies. I also enjoy participating in social activities, such as carnival. Every year, we join in with great enthusiasm and enjoy dressing up.

Personal life

The most important thing in my life is my family. I am grateful for the warm, loving home we have together. It gives me peace, balance and strength — something I carry with me in everything I do, both privately and professionally.

Education:

  • HKU (Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht)
  • Grafisch Lyceum Rotterdam

Clair Wermers about a MiCAR licence for Byecoin

Clair Wermers – 2nd Lawyer CMS – shares her experiences

As a result of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR), many parties offering services related to cryptocurrencies in the Netherlands must apply for a licence from the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. MiCAR is a European regulation, which means that, in principle, the same rules apply in all European countries.

The Netherlands got off to a flying start: the Financial Markets Authority was one of the first regulators in Europe where you could already start the application process online.

However, it is an intensive process; a lot of detailed information about the business processes and organisational structure must be provided. In practice, the rules surrounding the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) — also a European regulation designed to provide greater cyber and ICT protection — often prove to be a stumbling block for parties involved in the application process. In addition, there are far-reaching information obligations under the money laundering rules. It is a puzzle to figure out how parties can comply with these within the possibilities available to them.

Byecoin’s services are unique in that no other party in the Netherlands offers these services and has obtained a licence from the Financial Markets Authority for this purpose.

The Byecoin team is very pragmatic and hands-on, which makes working with them a pleasure. They think in terms of possibilities, and their non-legal perspective is often very enlightening for me. It is also positive that they are willing to discuss certain outstanding issues with the Financial Markets Authority and open them up for debate. That keeps all parties on their toes. Given Byecoin’s unique offering, there are qualifying questions that are worth discussing.

I also find this approach very interesting on a personal level.

I have been a solicitor at CMS for almost twenty years. I advise regulated parties such as funds and brokers on licence applications and ongoing supervision. I also assist these parties in takeover processes or financing rounds. I find developments in the field of tokenisation very exciting.

In recent years, a huge number of rules have been added.

Many new and existing products and services have come under supervision. This often presents market parties with an enormous challenge. It is always a matter of searching for practical applications that are workable. Fortunately, there are often legal possibilities to implement plans within the framework. When that succeeds, it is very satisfying.

  • Note: Byecoin is aiming for a MiCAR licence. We will keep you informed!

From the archives: Storgrid – Secure File Sharing for Modern Organizations

More and more companies are allowing employees to use their own devices, or BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). This is convenient, but it entails risks: sensitive company data can be leaked more easily.

Frequent use of popular apps such as Dropbox and Google Drive are easy to use, but not secure enough for companies. They offer little control over where files are located and who can access them. This is especially worrisome now that more and more people are working mobile.

After thorough market research, ByeleX became clear that the mobility of flexible working in combination with BYOD came with significant risks.

That’s why she developed Storgrid: a powerful Enterprise File Sync & Share (EFSS) solution that combines security, control and ease of use.

Storgrid offers a secure file sharing and synchronization solution for organizations that want to stay in control of their data. It’s a flexible solution for enterprise file sharing, combining ease of use with tight security.

Key benefits:

  • Strong security: Data is encrypted and can be wiped remotely.
  • Flexible installation: Works on your own servers, in the cloud or a combination thereof.
  • Full control for IT: IT teams control who has access and keep track of everything through logs.
  • Mobile working: Employees can work securely from any device.
  • Scalable and affordable: Adapts to the size of the business without high fees.

What makes Storgrid unique?

  • No dependence on one supplier.
  • Works with existing IT systems.
  • Focus on safety and compliance.
  • Supports open standards for easy collaboration.

At ByeleX, everything revolves around smart innovation. Based on Storgrid’s innovation, ByeleX has developed next-generation encryption that is both future-proof and quantum-proof.

About Storgrid….

Anton Zaleski, Director of ByeleX Eastern Europe

Career & Background

My parents were software developers, and one of the first students of the Faculty of Applied Mathematics. During my schoolyears my interest in programming grew and I also decided to study Applied Mathematics. My speciality was financial mathematics in which we study actuarial mathematics and models of financial markets. This has helped me a lot in understanding the customer needs during our projects.

In 1997, when I was a 3rd course student, my programming teacher proposed me a job with ByeleX, a small software company. I was happy to start as a Lotus Notes developer and became a member of the EQS team, one the greatest products in ByeleX early years.

From Developer to Director of Byelex Eastern Europe

Company leadership was never my goal but step by step I got more involved in different ByeleX projects and administration tasks. I had also built a good relationship will the colleagues of ByeleX. So, when I got the proposal to become a director, it seemed the natural thing to do. I accepted the challenge.

Team Experience

Nowadays I work with most of my Dutch colleagues for a very long time. From the very start I realised that we have a lot of things in common. I especially like the way in which they find the balance between work and private live. Our families are very important, but when needed everyone is 24/7 available.

When I started at ByeleX we had a small team without strict hierarchy but based on mutual respect and responsibility. I liked this atmosphere a lot and am doing my best to maintain this.

Visiting the Netherlands

In restaurants and shops I experienced the friendly communication between visitors and staff etc. and gradually became acquainted with the Dutch people.

Several times my Dutch colleagues invited me at their homes for dinner. It was memorable: the hospitality, the traditions, and home food of course. It surprised me that the traditional Dutch kitchen has almost the same ingredients as ours (meat, potato, certain vegetables), but the flavours are different.

Projects & Work

There is not a special project that stood out for me, I am proud of all projects we did in ByeleX. Every project is teamwork.

I especially like it when we can try new tools or technologies in a project. Fortunately, in software development that happens quite often. Sometimes that can be a new framework or just a new version of the library.

Another point which gives me extra energy is the experience that our software is really helping customers to perform better.

Liqwith Plaza Project

We are now working on the Liqwith Plaza project. It is based on several years of experiments and two previous production-tested versions of the product. It has quite a complex structure, so there is a lot of development work involved. On the other hand we face the challenge to keep it user-friendly for the customers. I really believe that this product has a lot of potential.

Personal Life

I have a wife and two sons of 20 and 13 years old. My eldest son is musician, playing the contrabass. And my youngest is actively finding his way in this world. I am happy to support him in this and learn different things from guitar playing to crypto-currency trading together.

I can’t say that I have a specific hobby; maybe my profession gives me enough interest and fulfilment. I do like swimming. Several years ago, I obtained a diving license and now on vacations I am always looking for a possibility to dive.

There is a phrase “A man must plant a tree, build a house, and raise a son”. Fortunately, I already did all of it. Now I do the work I like as good as I can.

What do you think you would be doing if you weren’t working in IT?

I hardly imagine myself without IT. I like to watch how big construction machines work. Maybe I would become an operator of such a machine.