Anthropic and the Pope are apparently at odds about this controversial AI concept

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 i…