OpenAI CEO warns against ascribing 'religious force' to AI

OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman warned Saturday against granting artificial intelligence systems religious authority or ceding human judgment to algorithms, describing the practice as a "real safety issue" that demands careful scrutiny from developers and regulators. Writing on the social media platform X, Altman stated: "I am very uncomfortable about people trying to ascribe religious force or a surrender of human judgment to AI models, and think it is a real safety issue."

His comments arrived days after reports emerged that rival AI company Anthropic had convened private discussions with religious and philosophical thinkers regarding artificial intelligence consciousness. The meetings addressed whether systems such as Anthropic's Claude might possess sentience and how theological frameworks could inform their behavior, according to The New York Times.

Industry divided on machine consciousness

Anthropic has also been investigating what it terms "model welfare" — research into whether sophisticated AI systems could have experiences deserving of moral consideration as the technology advances. The work signals a growing technical focus on the boundary between instrumental tool and autonomous entity within the artificial intelligence sector.

Microsoft AI Chief Executive Mustafa Suleyman has similarly cautioned against creating artificial intelligence that appears conscious, arguing that inducing users to believe machines possess subjective experiences introduces novel safety hazards. He has promoted a "Humanist AI" framework in which systems remain strictly instrumental tools serving human interests rather than agents with independent claims.