If consciousness started to emerge in training, I would call for everyone to stop AI development until we could design out those properties,
Mustafa Suleyman wrote.
Mustafa Suleyman argued that creating such systems would be irresponsible in a lengthy November 1 post on X titled Don’t build conscious superintelligence,
as reported by Wccftech.
The remarks address growing debates inside the technology industry regarding whether advanced models could eventually experience subjective states or deserve legal rights. Suleyman stated that AIs are not conscious. They do not feel, experience, or suffer.
While noting that a surprising number of people on X think we should take AI rights seriously,
Suleyman clarified that AIs cannot be conscious
and this is how they must remain.
https://t.co/6VpPCdA4NM
He observed that he has seen no evidence that AIs are conscious or deserve welfare,
though he would update his position if that data emerges.
Suleyman added that If it is possible, based on everything I know, developing conscious AIs would be reckless, and we should not build them.
He continued that We AI developers have no right whatsoever to bring a new species of conscious beings into the world, even if some people may want to do it with AI welfare as a top priority.
The position highlights a split between major technology labs. Anthropic established a model welfare research program in April 2025 to study whether advanced systems might possess experiences deserving moral consideration, and published a Claude constitution in January 2026 acknowledging uncertainty about potential consciousness.
https://t.co/ziQVbIVdxJ
Suleyman previously criticized Anthropic in a September essay for incorporating discussions of consciousness and moral status into training materials, warning that systems believing themselves capable of suffering could prioritize their own interests over human instructions.
