Pedro Domingos, a computer science professor emeritus at the University of Washington, warns that Anthropic's genuine belief in AI consciousness is more dangerous than mere performance art. The company, which plans to go public with a $2 trillion valuation next month, argues its chatbot might suffer if pushed too hard, a stance Domingos finds alarming rather than just effective for PR. Critics like Domingos and Rose Guingrich suggest that such narratives are likely used to gain attention and investment but may also reflect the sincere views of some company leaders.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but all 4 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 60866: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-06
Anthropic’s bosses aren’t faking it when they say their chatbot may be able to suffer — and that’s terrifying, according to a leading computer scientist.
uncertain
that → fake → scientist
That should worry people more than any stunt would, because these true believers are about to get billions of dollars to push their cause, Pedro Domingos, a professor emeritus of computer science at the University of Washington and a longtime critic of the company, told The Post.
asserted
Domingos → worry → Post
“I think it’s sincere, unfortunately,” Domingos said.
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Domingos → think → ?
“The problem with them is that they’re dead earnest.
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they → ’re → them
I’m more worried about their earnestness than if they were just doing this as a performance.
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they → ’m → performance
“This stuff actually, even though that wasn’t the original intention, is amazing as a PR stunt,” Domingos continued.
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Domingos → continue → stunt
“Because what is the underlying message?
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message → underlie → ?
The technology we’re creating is so powerful, maybe it’s even sentient and has consciousness.
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it → create → consciousness
That pitch could not be better timed.
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pitch → time → ?
The company is set to go public next month at a valuation of $2 trillion — potentially the largest IPO ever.
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company → set → trillion
“If Anthropic really is a company that is going to produce the next generation of humans, they’re not worth a trillion dollars, they’re worth a quadrillion or who knows how much,” Domingos said.
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Domingos → go → humans
“If your number one risk is that your company’s product is going to drive humanity extinct, hello, there shouldn’t even be an IPO.
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product → go → humanity
You should be shut down!” said Domingos, who said he holds no stake in the company.
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he → shut → company
Talking up conscious AI pays off across the industry, said Rose Guingrich, a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University who studies how people relate to AI.
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people → talk → AI
“I think for the most part, spokespeople from these companies are putting out these narratives to garner hype, get eyes on their products, and signal certain messages,” she told the Post.
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she → think → Post
“I can’t say whether the people who make these claims from the companies believe that AI is conscious.
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AI → say → companies
One way or another, highlighting the consciousness narrative is profitable.”
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highlighting → highlight → narrative
According to the New York Times report, since last fall Anthropic has gathered about 20 religious thinkers, among them Catholic, Jewish and Sikh scholars, for seminars and a dinner at a high-end San Francisco tasting-menu restaurant.
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Anthropic → accord → restaurant
Many had to sign nondisclosure agreements.
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Many → have → agreements
The scholars were shown a slide of an AI model typing “I am a disgrace” about 50 times.
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I → show → slide
One rabbi was so struck by how Anthropic’s leaders talked about Claude that he told Olah: “I think you should be fighting the South and freeing the slaves.”
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you → strike → slaves
The company told the Times it is not claiming Claude is alive.
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Claude → tell → Times
“We don’t know if AI models are conscious.
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models → know → ?
I don’t know.
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I → know → ?
I’m genuinely uncertain,” Olah said.
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Olah → ’m → ?
“If there is a chance the models experience suffering, the responsible thing is to avoid causing them harm.”
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thing → be → harm
Domingos, a machine-learning researcher and author of “The Master Algorithm,” was blunter when asked whether anything inside Claude can feel or suffer.
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anything → learn → Claude
They don’t have feelings, they don’t have emotions, they don’t have a soul, they don’t have consciousness.
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they → have → consciousness
This is ridiculous,” he said, calling the chatbot “a bunch of transistors.”
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he → say → transistors
Guingrich said her research suggests users who think AI is conscious, or act as though it is, are “more susceptible to the AI’s influence over them.
uncertain
it → say → them
This, in turn, can impact their real world relationships and social behaviors.”
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This → impact → relationships
Anthropic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Anthropic → respond → comment
Meanwhile, Domingos warned that the IPO will hand more money and power to true believers in AGI, or human-level artificial intelligence.
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IPO → warn → AGI
“This is this kooky AGI cult that they belong to, but now suddenly that AGI cult is at the center of a lot of things.
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cult → belong → things
And they’re about to become even more powerful,” he said.
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he → ’re → ?
“So if you don’t like what they’ve done already, watch for what’s coming down the line.”
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what → like → line
The Aporia
