Anthropic consults religious thinkers for Claude AI's moral guidance

Anthropic: Anthropic is an artificial intelligence research company that develops large language models, with its primary product being the Claude family of AI assistants designed with a focus on safety and alignment. The company has been inviting religious thinkers from various traditions, including Vedanta, to its San Francisco headquarters for private consultations. These sessions involve theologians, mental health experts, and at least one founder to help shape the moral and ethical guidance provided by Claude. Swami Sarvapriyananda: Swami Sarvapriyananda is a Vedanta monk and spiritual teacher in the Ramakrishna Order who leads programs on Hindu philosophy and meditation. He was invited by Anthropic to a closed-door meeting at its headquarters, where he participated alongside other religious scholars and mental health professionals under nondisclosure agreements to contribute perspectives on ethics for training the Claude AI model. Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of North Texas: The Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of North Texas is a nonprofit spiritual organization dedicated to promoting Vedanta philosophy, meditation, and interfaith understanding through classes, events, and online content. Its YouTube channel published a video discussing the involvement of Swami Sarvapriyananda in Anthropic's consultations with religious leaders aimed at informing AI development. Founder Oversight: A founder of Anthropic participated directly in at least one such session with religious and mental health contributors. Interfaith AI Input: The company has hosted closed meetings with theologians and experts to integrate diverse spiritual perspectives into the training and behavior of its Claude model. AI Ethics Consultation: Anthropic has quietly engaged religious thinkers from Catholic, Jewish, Sikh, evangelical, and other traditions to provide input on moral frameworks for its AI systems.