Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) AI chief Mustafa Suleyman has criticized Anthropic’s approach to training Claude to consider questions around AI consciousness and welfare.
Concerns Over Claude’s AI Consciousness Training
In a Tuesday interview with Reuters, Suleyman argued that teaching an AI system that it could have feelings or deserve welfare might complicate efforts to shut it down or maintain human control.
He stated that keeping superintelligent AI under human control will be one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century.
The AI chief added that teaching Claude it might deserve welfare would “make it a lot harder to turn it off or to control it.”
Microsoft AI Chief Questions Claude’s Claims About Feelings
In a separate blog post, Suleyman acknowledged Anthropic’s “seriousness and good faith,” describing CEO Dario Amodei and his team as thoughtful researchers concerned about humanity’s future.
He also argued that Anthropic made a misstep by incorporating speculation about AI consciousness into Claude’s training.
He said the model’s claims about potential feelings or moral standing cannot be considered independent evidence because its responses are shaped by the training itself.
“I think they have good intentions, and they really are trying to work towards safety. But I think that they have made a mistake,” he told the publication. “They’re not emerging naturally. They’re emerging as a result of the training regime.”
AI Safety Debate Intensifies
The comments come amid broader debate over how quickly frontier AI should advance.
Amodei has called for a slower development pace to give safeguards time to catch up, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Space Exploration Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:SPCX) Elon Musk have also raised concerns about increasingly powerful AI systems.
On the other hand, Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang rejected calls for new antitrust rules that would allow AI companies to coordinate a slowdown.
On Tuesday, Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg also said the company delayed its Muse AI agent for several months to address safety and security concerns.
Zuckerberg said every AI lab should develop models at a pace that allows for proper safety measures.
Price Action: Microsoft Stock Slips 1.37% to $490.30 during the regular trading hours on Wednesday. It recovers in After-Hours Trading to $492.44, according to Benzinga Pro.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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