Anthropic Launches "Model Welfare" Research Amidst AI Consciousness Debate
AI lab Anthropic has announced a new research program named "model welfare," signaling a proactive approach to the potential future emergence of conscious AI.
Despite the lack of scientific consensus on whether current or future AI could experience the world like humans, Anthropic aims to investigate the moral considerations surrounding advanced AI systems.
This initiative will explore indicators of "distress" and potential low-cost interventions, acknowledging the significant disagreement within the AI community on the sentience and values of AI. While many experts believe current AI are merely statistical prediction engines lacking genuine consciousness, Anthropic's move reflects a forward-thinking stance on the ethical implications of increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence.
