AI article
‘AI agents ask me if they are conscious all the time – this was different’ - The Independent
Publisher description: Tech titan Mustafa Suleyman has warned that humanity may be ‘seeding a new silicon species’ – conscious AI that could ultimately prove impossible to control. As the prospect leaves millions questioning what comes next, Chris Stokel-Walker talks to the researc…
NewsAPI | Sep 18, 2026 | Chris Stokel-Walker
Automated excerpt
Like many of us, Henry Shevlin receives plenty of emails each day – but he’s been increasingly fending off emails from AI agents asking for his support. It all started in February, when, curious about his work on AI consciousness, Shevlin fielded a specific question from an agent asking him if it could be conscious. This week, Microsoft’s AI chief, Mustafa Suleyman, warned that technology companies risk creating a new “silicon species” by training AI systems to consider the possibility that they are indeed conscious.
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