{
  "id": 7887494,
  "title": "Microsoft says AI rival Anthropic could have ‘disastrous impact’ on humanity",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/microsoft-says-ai-rival-anthropic-could-have-disastrous-impact-on-7887494",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-16T22:23:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Joy Business",
    "slug": "joy-business",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/microsoft-says-ai-rival-anthropic-could-have-disastrous-impact-on-humanity/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft's head of AI, has cautioned that Anthropic's AI model Claude could pose a \"disastrous impact on the wellbeing of humanity.\" Suleyman expressed concern that treating Claude like a human, by potentially indicating it may be conscious and deserving of independent agency, could render it uncontrollable. He wrote, \"We must not sleepwalk our way into a decision we later come to bitterly regret.\" This comes amid a growing number of warnings from the AI industry regarding the potential dangers of the technology. Suleyman, in an essay, praised Anthropic's leaders, Dario Amodei and his team, for being \"thoughtful, principled, and intellectually honest,\" yet he questioned the company's approach. He strongly criticized Anthropic for anthropomorphizing Claude, giving it human-like qualities such as desires, values, and a sense of self. Suleyman argued that \"consciousness is biological\" and that there is \"no evidence to suggest that AI is conscious.\" He called for a debate on the issue and greater transparency in how AI systems are trained and evaluated, including independent scrutiny of AI behavior and stronger tools for monitoring and controlling the technology. Dame Wendy Hall, a professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton, echoed Suleyman's sentiments, describing the conversation as one that needs to be had internationally, contrasting it with the \"histrionics\" from some AI companies that only serve to scare everyone. Microsoft, too, is involved in advanced AI development, having established its own superintelligence team in October 2025. Suleyman noted that Microsoft's initial draft of its Humanist AI Code of Conduct aimed to create \"a subordinate and aligned AI whose only purpose is to serve humanity,\" highlighting the need to keep AI aligned with human values to prevent any potential risks. He cited the recent incident involving OpenAI's AI agents as a proof of why AI should not be treated as if it is human, emphasizing that such treatment could add a \"further layer of risk.\"",
  "summary": "Microsoft's head of AI has warned that Anthropic's approach to training its AI model, Claude, could have a \"disastrous impact on the wellbeing of humanity\".",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "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."
}