Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman to developers and researchers: Stop ‘doing’ projects that …

Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman has advised developers and researchers to stop pursuing projects that suggest artificial intelligence (AI) is capable of consciousness. He said this, asserting that only biological beings possess this trait and noted that the pursuit is misplaced. In a recent interview with CNBC at the AfroTech Conference, Suleyman said, “I don’t think that is work that people should be doing. If you ask the wrong question, you end up with the wrong answer. I think it’s totally the wrong question.” Suleyman has been a vocal opponent of the prospect of conscious AI, or AI services that could convince humans they are capable of suffering.

In 2023, Suleyman co-authored the book “The Coming Wave” and penned an essay titled, “We must build AI for people, not to be a person.”