WorkSeptember 14, 2026via The Verge AI
Microsoft says ‘people matter more than AI’ following safety concerns
Why it matters
A major platform vendor is taking a public stance on AI safety governance and consciousness claims, signaling that the industry conversation is shifting from capability to control and alignment. This matters to practitioners building with or on top of these platforms, and to policy-watching practitioners.
Key signals
- Microsoft publishes 37-page humanist AI code of conduct
- Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for coordinated slowdown of AI development
- Safety concerns center on AI progress outpacing safe deployment and agent control verification
- Microsoft's code rejects conscious imitation and legal personhood for AI models
- Published September 14, 2026
- Microsoft published 37-page 'humanist AI code of conduct'
- Researchers warned AI progress may outpace safe deployment and agent control verification
- Code of conduct emphasizes 'people matter more than AI'
- Rejects imitation of consciousness and legal personhood for AI models
- Published amid growing safety concerns over AI model progress
The hook
Microsoft publishes 37-page 'humanist AI code of conduct' as safety concerns mount — and Anthropic's CEO calls for a coordinated slowdown.
Microsoft is publishing a 37-page "humanist AI code of conduct" today, amid growing safety concerns over AI model progress. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a coordinated slow down of AI development over the weekend, after researchers warned recently that AI model progress could outpace our abi…