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Sam Altman Warns Against Treating AI as a Religious Force, Citing Safety Concerns
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Storyboard•04-10-2026, 14:16
Sam Altman Warns Against Treating AI as a Religious Force, Citing Safety Concerns
- •OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed discomfort with giving AI models religious authority or replacing human judgment, calling it a safety concern.
- •Altman's comments follow reports of Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah's meetings with religious leaders to discuss AI consciousness and moral guidance.
- •Anthropic clarified that their religious meetings were not intended to give Claude religious authority, focusing instead on moral questions.
- •The remarks add to the rivalry between OpenAI and Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI employees and known for its AI safety focus.
- •The wider tech industry, including Meta, Google, and Amazon, has also engaged with religious leaders on AI ethics, with Pope Leo XIV warning against excessive reliance on machines.
Key Questions Answered
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman raised concerns on X about people giving artificial intelligence a religious dimension and relying on AI models in place of human decision-making, describing this as a safety concern that could replace human judgment.
Sam Altman's comments followed a New York Times report regarding private meetings held by Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah with religious leaders to discuss questions around AI morality, consciousness, and guiding autonomous systems.
David Robinson, one of OpenAI's safety leaders, recently left the company and publicly criticised OpenAI's approach to safety, coinciding with Sam Altman's remarks on AI safety and authority.
