AI Consciousness Could Become A Regulatory Moat

What happened: Anthropic met religious scholars and lobbied the Vatican on machine consciousness, while Pope Leo XIV wrote in his May 15 encyclical Magnifica Humanitas that AI does not undergo experiences or feel joy or pain. Key numbers: Encyclical released May 15. Rome Call for AI Ethics signed February 2020; Jewish and Muslim leaders joined in 2023. Why it matters: The article argues that if AI firms are seen as custodians of possibly conscious entities rather than software makers, licensing, audits, and oversight could become costly barriers that incumbents use against new entrants.

Anthropic met religious scholars and lobbied the Vatican on machine consciousness, while Pope Leo XIV wrote in his May 15 encyclical Magnifica Humanitas that AI does not undergo experiences or feel joy or pain.

The article argues that if AI firms are seen as custodians of possibly conscious entities rather than software makers, licensing, audits, and oversight could become costly barriers that incumbents use against new entrants.