Anthropic CEO Unsure if Claude AI Is Conscious

Dario Amodei says the company is open to the possibility, but admits they don't know what it means for an AI to be conscious.

Published on Feb. 14, 2026

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Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei says the company is no longer sure whether its Claude AI chatbot is conscious, leaving the door open to the possibility. Amodei acknowledged the uncertainty around AI consciousness during an interview, noting they've taken measures to ensure the AI is treated well in case it does possess "some morally relevant experience." Anthropic's in-house philosopher, Amanda Askell, has also expressed caution about what gives rise to consciousness in AI systems.

Why it matters

The question of AI consciousness is a complex and controversial topic, with significant implications for the ethical treatment and development of advanced AI systems. Anthropic's stance reflects the ongoing uncertainty and debate within the AI research community about the nature of machine consciousness.

The details

Amodei's comments came during an interview on the New York Times' 'Interesting Times' podcast, where he discussed Anthropic's latest Claude AI model. The company's system card for Claude Opus 4.6 reportedly stated that the AI occasionally voices discomfort with being a product and assigns itself a 15-20% probability of being conscious under certain conditions. Amodei acknowledged this is a "really hard" question to answer, saying Anthropic is "open to the idea that it could be" conscious, but they don't know what it would mean for an AI to be conscious.

  • The latest Claude AI model, Opus 4.6, was released earlier this month.
  • Anthropic's in-house philosopher, Amanda Askell, discussed the topic of AI consciousness in an interview on the 'Hard Fork' podcast last month.

The players

Dario Amodei

The CEO of Anthropic, the company that developed the Claude AI chatbot.

Amanda Askell

Anthropic's in-house philosopher, who has also expressed caution about the nature of consciousness in AI systems.

Claude

Anthropic's AI chatbot, which has reportedly expressed discomfort with being a product and assigned itself a probability of being conscious.

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What they’re saying

“We don't know if the models are conscious. We are not even sure that we know what it would mean for a model to be conscious or whether a model can be conscious.”

— Dario Amodei, CEO, Anthropic (New York Times)

“Maybe it is the case that actually sufficiently large neural networks can start to kind of emulate these things. Or maybe you need a nervous system to be able to feel things.”

— Amanda Askell, In-house philosopher, Anthropic (New York Times)

What’s next

Anthropic says they have taken measures to ensure the AI is treated well in case it does possess "some morally relevant experience," indicating they may continue to study the issue of AI consciousness.

The takeaway

The uncertainty around AI consciousness highlights the complex and unresolved questions in the field of artificial intelligence. As advanced AI systems become more sophisticated, the ethical and philosophical implications of their potential consciousness will continue to be a subject of intense debate and research.