Anthropic Gives Claude a Constitution: ethics, safety, and the consciousness question

Anthropic released Claude’s 57-page Constitution, outlining the model’s intended ethical character, core values, and why it should understand its goals rather than just follow rules. It sets hard constraints against aiding bioweapons, cyberattacks, or actions that could cause mass harm, and prioritizes safety, ethics, compliance, and being genuinely helpful, including truthful, multi-perspective responses on contested topics. The document also explores whether Claude might have consciousness or moral status and urges the model to refuse illegitimate power grabs—even from Anthropic. The company did not disclose external contributors, signaling a push for autonomous alignment in high-stakes AI deployment amid power-concentration concerns.