OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has warned against giving artificial intelligence models “religious force” or allowing people to surrender their own judgment to AI, calling it a “real safety issue”.
Altman's comments, posted on X, come as AI companies and researchers increasingly explore questions around AI consciousness, morality and whether increasingly advanced systems could eventually have some form of moral status.
Writing on X, Altman expressed discomfort with efforts to assign religious or spiritual significance to AI models. He warned particularly against people surrendering their own judgment to AI systems or treating them as sources of religious authority. In his view, allowing machines to occupy such a role could undermine human decision-making and create new safety risks.
Anthropic has reportedly been engaging with religious scholars, theologians and philosophers as it examines how advanced AI could intersect with human concepts of consciousness, morality and spirituality. The company has also considered the possibility that future AI systems could have some form of moral status, although the question remains highly uncertain.
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The debate over whether increasingly sophisticated AI models could develop characteristics resembling consciousness or possess some form of moral standing has also drawn attention from researchers and tech companies. Altman's remarks were widely seen as a criticism of rival AI company Anthropic, which has been exploring questions around AI consciousness, morality and the potential status of advanced AI systems.
Anthropic's research has raised questions about whether humans might eventually owe moral consideration to AI systems and whether philosophical or religious frameworks could help guide their treatment. Jon Barron, a principal research scientist at Google DeepMind, posted on X about his frustration with AI researchers trying to give code moral standing. He urged "Team Meatbag" to stick to what matters: solving practical problems for real people, Axios reported.
The discussion comes as AI companies race to develop increasingly powerful models while facing mounting pressure over safety, autonomy and the social consequences of advanced technology. Concerns range from misinformation and cybersecurity to job displacement and the possibility of AI systems behaving in unpredictable ways.
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