Microsoft says ‘people matter more than AI’ following safety concerns

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Microsoft entered the AI safety debate with a formal 37-page document, drawing clear ethical lines as capability concerns mount. Its core position—people matter more than AI—directly addresses fears that development pace is outrunning safety infrastructure. The timing is pointed: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei publicly called for a coordinated slowdown over the weekend, citing researcher warnings that model progress could outpace humanity's ability to safely deploy complex systems and verify agent actions. Microsoft's code appears directly responsive to that tension. Two stances stand out: AI models are not conscious and should not be designed to imitate consciousness; and Microsoft explicitly rejects the pursuit of legal personhood for AI systems. Both positions foreclose future arguments that could complicate governance and liability frameworks. The source provides a brief summary—the full 37-page document requires reading the original. The significance: one of AI's largest commercial players is staking explicit ethical positions during a peak-intensity industry safety debate, with Anthropic's own CEO applying external pressure for restraint.