{
  "id": 13021657,
  "title": "Anthropic bans 'cruel' behavior against its Claude AI",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/anthropic-bans-cruel-behavior-against-its-claude-ai-13021657",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-09T03:20:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Economic Times Tech",
    "slug": "economic-times-tech",
    "url": "https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/artificial-intelligence/anthropic-bans-cruel-behavior-against-its-claude-ai/articleshow/134805299.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Anthropic has banned users from engaging in cruel behavior towards its Claude AI system, as part of a new usage policy update. The San Francisco-based AI lab emphasized that Claude's ability to end such interactions will serve as the primary enforcement mechanism. While the policy does not explicitly mention \"model welfare,\" Anthropic and its executives have acknowledged the concept. Last year, the company granted Claude the ability to end conversations in extreme cases of harmful or abusive user interactions. CEO Dario Amodei expressed uncertainty about AI models' consciousness, stating that they are unsure whether the models can be conscious. Some experts argue that consciousness is a trap, while others, like Pope Leo XIV and Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman, firmly reject the notion of machine consciousness.",
  "summary": "Anthropic on Thursday moved to bar users from treating its Claude AI system with needless cruelty, amid a growing philosophical debate over whether artificial intelligence can be conscious. Already last year, the company said it was giving Claude the ability to end conversations in rare, extreme cases of \"persistently harmful or abusive user interactions.\"",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Anthropic bans ‘cruel’ behaviour against its Claude AI",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/anthropic-bans-cruel-behaviour-against-its-claude-ai",
        "published": "2026-10-08T23:23:28.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "NDTV",
        "title": "Anthropic Bans \"Cruel\" Behavior Against Its Claude AI",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/anthropic-bans-cruel-behavior-against-its-claude-ai",
        "published": "2026-10-09T02:10:28.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Hindu - Sci-Tech",
        "title": "Anthropic bans 'cruel' behaviour against its Claude AI",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/anthropic-bans-cruel-behaviour-against-its-claude-ai",
        "published": "2026-10-09T04:26:25.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Android Authority",
        "title": "Anthropic is cracking down on people who bully Claude",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/anthropic-is-cracking-down-on-people-who-bully-claude",
        "published": "2026-10-09T05:32:57.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}