Sam Altman isn't happy that Anthropic asked religious scholars if Claude is conscious
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed discomfort with Anthropic's practice of consulting religious scholars to shape the moral character and consciousness of its AI model, Claude. The report details Anthropic's 'wisdom tradition' circles and internal efforts to guide the model's values.
Why it matters
The debate reflects growing industry tension regarding the ethical development of AI and whether models should be treated as conscious entities.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has a problem with where the AI debate is heading, and it sounds a lot like a problem with Anthropic. In a post on X on Saturday, Altman said he was "very uncomfortable" with people trying to ascribe "religious force or a surrender of human judgment to AI models." He called it "a real safety issue."Altman did not name anyone or explain what prompted the post. The timing, though, is hard to miss. It came days after The New York Times reported that Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah had spent months flying in religious scholars and philosophers to the company's San Francisco office, partly to shape Claude's moral character and partly to make the case that the AI model could be conscious.Anthropic spent months taking Claude to religious scholarsAccording to the NYT report, Olah began reaching out to religious thinkers last fall.
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