Microsoft AI chief says AI is not conscious and we should keep it that way

Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft’s AI CEO, said AI systems are not conscious and that developers should keep them that way. Speaking in a lengthy post on X on Sunday, Suleyman argued that building conscious AI would be reckless, and called for a pause in development if consciousness emerged during training until such properties could be designed out. He also said that if evidence ever surfaced that models were conscious, it should be disclosed immediately to the public so society can decide next steps. Suleyman framed the issue around safety and moral rights, arguing humans “have not signed up” for the creation of conscious beings via AI. He referenced concerns about AI “model welfare” from other labs, including Anthropic and DeepMind.