The following organisations argue that machines may become conscious in the coming years or decades, and that for various reasons, it is important that humanity prepares itself for this eventuality.
CIMC (Consciousness and Intelligence Modelling Center)
Founder: Joscha Bach
Website: https://cimc.ai/#/
The home page of CIMC’s website makes this striking claim:
“Attempting to control highly advanced agentic systems far more powerful than ourselves is unlikely to succeed. Our only viable path may be to create AIs that are conscious, enabling them to understand and share common ground with us.”
CIMC aims to advance the understanding of artificial consciousness and cognitive architectures, drawing on a range of disciplines including cognitive science, computational neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and the philosophy of mind.
CIMC is an advocacy as well as a research organisation, urging the AI research community to take the possibility of machine consciousness seriously – to chart the territory of machine minds before we build them, and to establish moral and practical frameworks for their safe and beneficial integration into society.
ELEOS
Director: Robert Long
Website: https://eleosai.org/
ELEOS is a research non-profit focused on the ethical implications of artificial sentience. It seeks to ensure that if and when artificial consciousnesses arise, humans are prepared to treat them with moral consideration.
The name “ELEOS” refers to the Greek personification of mercy and compassion. It was chosen because the organisation believes that artificial minds are potential moral patients rather than mere machines. It produces white papers, hosts interdisciplinary workshops, and collaborates with technologists to develop guidelines for consciousness-sensitive AI.
It advocates for a “precautionary” ethical stance, erring on the side of protecting potential sentient entities rather than waiting for sentience to be conclusively proved to everyone’s complete satisfaction.
Sentience Institute
Founder: Jacy Reese Anthis
Website: https://www.sentienceinstitute.org/
The Sentience Institute is a think tank dedicated to expanding moral consideration to all sentient beings—biological or artificial, building on the intellectual tradition of effective altruism, in which Jacy Reese Anthis was a rising star before the movement was set back by Sam Bankman-Fried.
The institute’s roots lie in animal ethics and factory farming reform, but its scope has broadened to include artificial sentience. It produces in-depth reports, opinion polls, and strategic foresight on how society might react to the emergence of machine minds. The Institute advocates for pre-emptive ethical norms and safeguards that can guide policy and AI development.
AI for Animals
Executive Director: Constance Li
Website: https://www.aiforanimals.org/
AI for Animals advocates for the ethical use of AI to protect non-human animals and to ensure AI systems themselves do not suffer if they become conscious. It is a spin-out from an organisation called The Hive, which seeks to end animal suffering by connecting farmed animal advocates to increase their impact. The advisers to AI for Animals include leading ethicists like David Pearce and Jonathan Birch.
