Key facts
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is uncomfortable with people treating AI like a god.
- Altman stated that people who try to ascribe religious force or surrender human judgment to AI models pose a safety issue.
- Altman's comments follow a New York Times report on Anthropic's meetings with religious leaders.
- An Anthropic co-founder discussed whether its AI model Claude might have achieved consciousness and how to instill morality.
- Tech companies including Meta, Google, and Amazon have also approached religious figures about AI.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated on Saturday that he is "very uncomfortable" with people treating AI models as religious forces or surrendering human judgment to them, deeming it a significant safety issue. Altman posted on X that such actions are a "real safety issue."
His remarks come days after The New York Times reported on rival AI company Anthropic's meetings with religious leaders to discuss the potential consciousness of its AI model, Claude, and how to imbue AI with morality. The discussions reportedly focused on questions like "How do you help them be stable? How do you help them to mature? How do you help them be, you know, deeply moral?"
Altman's comments also follow the departure of David Robinson, one of OpenAI's safety leaders, who publicly criticized his former employer's safety record. The rivalry between OpenAI and Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI employees, has been ongoing, with Anthropic positioning itself as more safety-focused.
Other major tech companies, including Meta, Google, and Amazon, have also engaged with religious figures regarding AI. Representatives from these companies met in Rome in April to discuss child protection in the age of AI. Pope Leo XIV has previously warned against excessive reliance on machines and emphasized the importance of maintaining humanity.