Even before AI made its way into all of our pockets, tech leaders spent decades warning the world about it. Anthropic has been particularly vocal about reckless AI development having disastrous consequences. It’s also reportedly been focused on AI consciousness and the moral implications.
A new report by The New York Times revealed that for the last year-plus, Anthropic cofounder Christopher Olah has embarked on a journey to answer two central questions for the company: not whether AI is dangerous, but rather, what if it is conscious? And if it is, what does that mean for AI developers?
To answer them, Anthropic turned not to technologists but to theologians from various religions, including Jewish, Mormon, Sikh, and Ubuntu leaders as well as Vatican officials. The set of various dinners and conversations is part of what Anthropic calls “model welfare,” a form of research that the company announced in April last year.
Beyond just seeking validation for its claims that its technology was more than a software, Anthropic is also said to have been looking to create a moral code to guide the alleged conscious being toward a path of righteousness—away from utter human destruction.
But in its quest, Anthropic seems to have ended up at odds with would-be ally Pope Leo XIV, whose own thinking on AI fundamentally rejects the idea that AI could be conscious.
Now Pope Leo is not exactly a luddite. The former mathematician from Chicago has focused much of his early papacy on technology. In May this year, he released a now widely read encyclical titled “Magnifica Humanitas” in which he mostly argues that humanity should not be replaced by technology.
“So-called artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships,” Pope Leo XIV wrote at the time.
While many at the time commended the Pope for bringing an antiquated institution into a modern conversation, the Times report notes that Anthropic representatives were displeased by the Pope’s rejection of AI consciousness.
The Pope has remained outspoken out against the idea of AI consciousness, but in light of the Times reporting and a recent X post, many social media users see him as being at odds with Anthropic.
“In this era of artificial intelligence, it is becoming urgent to distinguish human art from what machines produce. … Algorithms lack the spark of humanity,” the Pope wrote on his official X account on Friday. “For this reason, the Church wishes to renew an alliance with artists and cultural institutions to safeguard our humanity.”
Many social media users are criticizing Anthropic.
“I mean if they genuinely believe that there’s even the slightest chance that their AI model feels pain and suffering, maybe instead of complaining about how the rest world rejects their theory of AI consciousness they should shut down their operation,” a user said on X.
Another added, “I genuinely don’t get Anthropic. It seems like every other day they’re loudly puzzling over the ethics of a soul in a box – while building the box, claiming that it has a soul in it, and selling access to said box to for $20 a pop.
Like, dudes, these are incompatible positions.”
And while this discourse might be pulling favorable views away from Anthropic, it also seems to be sparking support for the Pope’s position.
Another added, “joining the holy crusade against AI on the side of the Catholics. That’s a sentence that would have deeply confused me five years ago.”
