OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says he is “very uncomfortable” with efforts to ascribe religious force, spiritual authority, or surrender of human judgment to AI models, calling it a “real safety issue.” His remarks come after reporting that Anthropic has explored questions of AI consciousness and spirituality.
The sources describe Altman’s comments as a direct critique of Anthropic, and note that Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei previously worked with Altman at OpenAI. NDTV links the issue to broader concerns about ethical boundaries for advanced AI, while Times of India frames it in the context of discussions around Claude’s “soul” and the involvement of religious scholars and philosophers in shaping moral guidance and how AI consciousness is discussed. Other outlets also point to additional pushback from major AI players, and contrast these discussions with dismissive views from religious leadership.
Overall, the outlets agree Altman warns against treating AI as conscious or religious/moral authority, though they differ in how directly they tie the criticism to specific Anthropic efforts and the surrounding public debate.
