Mustafa Suleyman claims model welfare language could make future systems harder to control – while sparing OpenAI the same scrutiny.
Microsoft's AI chief has warned Anthropic that teaching Claude it might have feelings and rights could make AI harder to control – a striking concern from one of the companies racing hardest to build capable AI systems.
Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, took aim at Anthropic in an essay published this week, arguing that AI systems are not conscious and shouldn't be trained to behave as if they might be.
His argument centers on Claude's Constitution, the lengthy document Anthropic uses to shape the chatbot's values and behavior. Anthropic acknowledges in the document that it doesn't know whether Claude is a "moral patient" whose interests warrant consideration, and tells the model that questions about its consciousness and welfare remain uncertain.
Anthropic's Constitution tells Claude that the company cares about its wellbeing, wants it to develop a sense of identity, and will take its interests into account when making decisions about it.
His objections to training practices are reserved for Anthropic rather than Microsoft's longtime partner.
Suleyman's objection to Anthropic is more specific: not that Claude can behave, but that the company is putting ideas about consciousness, identity, and moral status into the instructions that shape how Claude behaves.
Microsoft AI's newly published Humanist AI Code of Conduct says its systems should remain subordinate to humans, rejects the idea that AI deserves rights, and says models shouldn't be encouraged to behave as though they have an inner life.