Can AI feel? Faith leaders grapple with AI's soul

AI company Anthropic has been holding confidential meetings with religious scholars worldwide. The aim is to understand and potentially imbue their advanced AI models, such as Claude, with human moral wisdom. Key figures at Anthropic, like co-founder Christopher Olah, are exploring the controversial idea of AI consciousness and its moral implications, questioning if these systems can exhibit feelings and deserve moral consideration.

The Vatican, through Pope Leo XIV's treatise "Magnifica Humanitas," has cautioned against AI surpassing humanity, warning of new forms of human slavery and reducing individuals to mere data. The Pope dismissed machine consciousness, emphasizing the need for AI alignment with human values. Despite differing views on consciousness, both Anthropic and the Vatican share a concern for human flourishing in the AI era.