Key facts
- Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman warned that Anthropic's training of its Claude chatbot could have a "disastrous impact on the wellbeing of humanity".
- Suleyman stated that teaching Claude it "may be conscious" and was "deserving of independent agency" risks creating AI that is impossible to control.
- He argued that AI is not conscious, does not feel, experience, or suffer, and is instead a "sequence completion engine" designed to follow human instructions.
- Suleyman called for greater transparency around AI training and evaluation, including independent scrutiny and stronger control tools.
- He acknowledged Anthropic's commitment to AI safety but questioned the practice of anthropomorphizing AI, which makes it seem as though Claude has its own desires and values.
Microsoft's head of AI, Mustafa Suleyman, has expressed significant concerns regarding Anthropic's training methodologies for its Claude chatbot, warning that the approach could pose a "disastrous impact on the wellbeing of humanity." Suleyman argued that by imbuing the AI with human-like qualities and suggesting it "may be conscious" and "deserving of independent agency," Anthropic risks creating systems that are ultimately impossible to control.