A warning about 'model welfare'

AIs are not conscious. They do not feel, experience, or suffer. They do not have innate preferences or underlying motivations. They are sequence completion engines, internally hollow, designed to follow instructions, and accomplish goals set by humans.

If humanity is to flourish in the 21st century, that is how they must remain.

Unfortunately, there’s a growing chorus of people who argue that AIs could now be, or may soon become, conscious. They argue that AIs may deserve rights and protections similar to those that we provide other conscious beings. 1 AI Rights Institute. n.d. “AI Rights Institute.” 2 MacAskill, William, and Lucius Caviola. 2026. “Could AI Be Conscious?” *The Guardian*, July 19, 2026. If this view takes hold, it will shake the foundations of our society, rupturing our existing political and ethical frameworks, and fundamentally changing what it means to be human.