That’s why Anthropic, one of the world’s top artificial intelligence research firms, has launched a new program to study “model welfare.” Through this program, we want to better understand the implications of these AI systems and if they achieve consciousness. Efforts like this aside, as part of this initiative, Anthropic has hired its first specialized AI welfare researcher, Kyle Fish.
Kyle Fish will lead the company’s new model welfare research program. He will work out rules for the company and the wider industry on how to treat AI systems and their ethical use. He suspects that there’s at least a 15% probability that Claude or another AI like it is conscious right now. Anthropic’s announcement is unambiguous. Even in response to their own framing, they acknowledge that there isn’t clear evidence in favor of the proposition that today’s AI systems are sentient.
Debate on AI Consciousness Continues
Whether AI can ever truly be conscious at all is a widely debated issue among researchers. Others argue that AI can’t really mimic consciousness or what it’s like to be human. Yet for Stephen Casper, at the time a doctoral student at MIT, this is a misunderstanding of AI, which as an “imitator” is instead generating confabulations without any real understanding or intent.
Mike Cook, a research fellow at King’s College London, is an AI specialist. Above all, Mr. Biden called for honesty and transparency in communications about what AI can and cannot do. He stated, “Anyone anthropomorphizing AI systems to this degree is either playing for attention or seriously misunderstanding their relationship with AI.” Cook went on to stress the distinction between an AI system optimizing its goals and one that simply develops its own values. He argued that terminology plays a huge role in how the public understands AI.
Anthropic’s pledge to research model welfare is just one indication of a shift toward acknowledging the ethical concerns posed by more advanced AI technologies. The company aims to navigate these complexities while addressing the concerns raised by the academic community regarding AI’s limitations and potential.
Fish lives in Manhattan with his husband, who is a music therapist. His new role at Anthropic puts him at the center of a quickly changing, newly emerging field. Through their work, the company hopes to establish new paradigms for ethical AI development.
Author’s Opinion
The increasing efforts to explore the ethical concerns of AI technologies are crucial for shaping a future where such systems are used responsibly. While the debate on AI consciousness continues, the focus should remain on practical guidelines and frameworks that ensure AI systems are developed and utilized in a manner that aligns with human values and societal norms.
Featured image credit: Fortune Brainstorm Tech via Flickr
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