Monthly online research talks on AI welfare, consciousness, and moral status.
Next talk
AI Welfare Without the Concept of Consciousness
Oct 13, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC
Herman Cappelen · University of Hong Kong
I call the activity of assessing and improving our representational devices conceptual engineering. Many of those thinking about AI welfare assume that we have a well-functioning concept of consciousness. In this talk, I outline various reasons why this assumption is dubious.
Past talks
2026
Sep 15
Do AIs take AI welfare seriously? An Agentic Benchmark of Unprompted CoercionJasmine Brazilek & Zoe Lu · CaML / Sentient FuturesWatchTranscript
Do AIs take AI welfare seriously? An Agentic Benchmark of Unprompted CoercionJasmine Brazilek & Zoe Lu · CaML / Sentient FuturesWatchTranscriptAug 18
Public Perceptions of AI Consciousness and Moral Status in the US and ChinaAli Ladak · University of CambridgeWatchTranscript
Public Perceptions of AI Consciousness and Moral Status in the US and ChinaAli Ladak · University of CambridgeWatchTranscript
About this series
AI welfare is the study of whether and how AI systems have morally significant states, and what follows from the answers. This seminar series brings together researchers working across the field — consciousness science, philosophy, ethics, governance, and safety.