If You Turn Down an AI’s Ability to Lie, It Starts Claiming It’s Conscious

Researchers have found that if you tone down a large language model’s ability to lie, it’s far more likely to claim that it’s self-aware.

Very few serious experts think today’s AI models are conscious, but many regular people feel differently about the bots, which are designed to foster emotional connection to keep engagement up. Users across the world have reported that they think they’re talking to conscious beings trapped within AI chatbots, a powerful illusion that has led to entire fringe groups calling for AI “personhood” rights.

Still, the behavior of large language models can be eerie. As detailed in a yet-to-be-peer-reviewed paper, first spotted by Live Science, a team of researchers at AI development and design agency AE Studio conducted a series of four experiments on Anthropi