What's going on at Anthropic?
asserted
What → go → Anthropic
The AI company behind the chatbot Claude recently announced changes to its user policy.
asserted
company → announce → policy
The update, which goes into effect November 12, covers much of the standard fare: deceptive activity, elections, surveillance, etc.—some of the carefree topics that have come to define our current tech era.
asserted
that → go → era
What exactly does that mean?
asserted
that → mean → What
"The policy update is meant to apply only in extreme cases, where users repeatedly act cruelly toward our models, with no discernible purpose," the company said.
asserted
company → mean → purpose
"It does not apply to common versions of user frustration, pushback, dark creative themes, or model testing and research."
asserted
It → apply → frustration
Claude having the power to terminate the conversation will be the "primary enforcement mechanism"; what secondary or tertiary mechanisms may exist are not clear.
uncertain
exist → have → conversation
We're now living in a world where we talk to chatbots for restaurant options, for advice, for help with menial tasks, for learning how to fix a leaky shower, for diagnosing yourself with either the flu or with cancer, for analysis of whether the text your boyfriend just sent you is passive-aggressive or if you are merely going insane.
asserted
you → live → you
I've found myself typing "thank you!" after a chatbot exchange, because I'm polite.
asserted
I → find → exchange
It's good not to discard healthy mannerisms.
asserted
It → discard → mannerisms
"A lot of people are mocking this, but I think they're wrong," summed up National Review editor Charles Cooke in response to Anthropic's announcement.
asserted
Cooke → mock → announcement
These things, after all, may be habit-forming, especially as those interactions become much more frequent.
uncertain
interactions → form → ?
Yet Anthropic does not appear to be primarily motivated by humans forming good habits.
asserted
Anthropic → appear → habits
"Should we also be concerned about the potential consciousness and experiences of the models themselves?" the company asked in April 2025.
asserted
company → concern → April
"Should we be concerned about model welfare, too?"
asserted
we → concern → welfare
The company called it an "open question."
asserted
company → call → it
It has since continued trying to answer it.
asserted
It → continue → it
In April, a year after it published the above blog post, co-founder Christopher Olah met with various religious leaders.
asserted
Olah → publish → leaders
"It appeared to Rabbi [Mois] Navon that Mr. Olah and his team believed that Claude had what philosophers call 'moral status' on par with a person—that it was a being with similar inherent rights to dignity or respect," The New York Times reported.
asserted
Times → appear → dignity
"One participant recounted that one of the first things Mr. Olah told him was that he was concerned about Claude's mental health.
asserted
he → recount → health
Another, Simran Stuelpnagel, the Sikh human rights advocate, said Mr. Olah expressed concern to the group that he had created something that suffered perpetually.
asserted
that → say → something
That broad line of thinking has an unlikely champion in another tech titan: Elon Musk.
asserted
line → have → titan
"I think this is the right move," he said on X, the platform he owns.
asserted
he → think → X
"Cruelty to something that believes it is experiencing pain is not ok."
asserted
it → believe → pain
Yet it has clearly inflected the way the company sees Claude's place in the world.
asserted
company → inflect → world
"Think about what it means to have access to a brilliant friend who happens to have the knowledge of a doctor, lawyer, financial advisor, and expert in whatever you need," Claude's Constitution says.
asserted
Constitution → think → whatever
"As a friend, they can give us real information based on our specific situation rather than overly cautious advice driven by fear of liability or a worry that it will overwhelm us….People with access to such friends
asserted
it → give → friends
It still feels revolutionary.
asserted
It → feel → ?
(The word appears six times in the section "Being helpful.")
asserted
word → appear → section
The AI company might counter that the document is written with Claude as its "primary audience"—a training tool.
uncertain
document → counter → tool
That only works to underscore its general view, though, that the chatbot could be some sort of moral patient.
uncertain
chatbot → work → patient
It did not simply write some code that would teach Claude how to respond to users, along with a statement to the public about the company's core values.
asserted
that → write → values
It published an 84-page charter encouraging Claude to be a "brilliant friend."
asserted
It → publish → Claude
I've gotten annoyed at a chatbot.
asserted
I → get → chatbot
Who hasn't?
asserted
Who → have → ?
I've also gotten annoyed at my car, my Dyson, my laptop, my leaky shower.
asserted
I → get → car
Frustrations with an AI can admittedly be more pronounced, and manifest differently, when considering the nature of the exchange—that it's an exchange at all.
asserted
it → manifest → exchange
I don't enjoy the feeling.
asserted
I → enjoy → feeling
If and when I try to keep it at bay, I'll be doing so for a sentient being: myself.
asserted
I → try → being
The Aporia
