Anthropic bans users from being 'cruel' to its AI systems
Anthropic has updated its usage policy to prohibit users from engaging in 'sustained and needless' abusive behavior toward its AI models. While the company claims this is to prevent cruelty, the move has sparked debate regarding the anthropomorphization of AI systems.
Why it matters
This policy change highlights the growing tension between AI developers and the public regarding the ethical treatment of non-sentient software.
Image source, Getty Images By Liv McMahon Technology reporter Published 10 minutes ago Anthropic has raised eyebrows by announcing it will ban users from "sustained and needless" abusive behaviour towards its AI.
The Claude-maker said on Thursday it was updating its usage policy to let its tools end interactions where people are "cruel" - something it said it had done in "rare" cases prior.
It will now be included on a list of forbidden conduct which also contains bullying others, promoting self-harm and creating non-consensual intimate imagery.
While Anthropic said the policy would only apply in "extreme cases" of repeated abuse, it has reignited debate over how we should communicate with AI tools.
The company said it would not apply to "common versions of user frustration, pushback, dark creative themes, or model testing and research" - suggesting it would only apply in clearly deliberate instances.
Also covering this story
8 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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