Is “AI welfare” the new frontier in ethics?

Some AI researchers are proposing methods to assess potential consciousness in AI systems, suggesting companies should consider the welfare of advanced AI. They recommend looking for multiple indicators that might correlate with consciousness, while cautioning against definitively claiming AI sentience. There are risks to both ignoring potential AI consciousness and incorrectly anthropomorphizing AI. Some major tech companies, including Google DeepMind and OpenAI, have shown interest in researching machine consciousness, though the topic remains controversial and speculative.