# Principles for Responsible AI Consciousness Research

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.07290 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.07290/

## Key facts

- Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 14 of its 64 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 13 Jan 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 14 of 14)

- [Perceiver: General Perception with Iterative Attention](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.03206/) (2021)
- [Perceiver IO: A General Architecture for Structured Inputs & Outputs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.14795/) (2021)
- [Model evaluation for extreme risks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.15324/) (2023)
- [The Consciousness Prior](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1709.08568/) (2017)
- [The Ethics of Advanced AI Assistants](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.16244/) (2024)
- [Is Power-Seeking AI an Existential Risk?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.13353/) (2022)
- [Consciousness in Artificial Intelligence: Insights from the Science of Consciousness](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.08708/) (2023)
- [Could a Large Language Model be Conscious?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.07103/) (2023)
- [A Systematic Literature Review of User Trust in AI-Enabled Systems: An HCI Perspective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.08795/) (2023)
- [Simulacra as Conscious Exotica](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.12422/) (2024)
- [Superintelligence cannot be contained: Lessons from Computability Theory](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1607.00913/) (2016)
- [The Jiminy Advisor: Moral Agreements Among Stakeholders Based on Norms and Argumentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.04741/) (2018)
- [Attention Schema in Neural Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.17375/) (2023)
- [Negative Human Rights as a Basis for Long-term AI Safety and Regulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.14788/) (2022)

## Built on by (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [Agentic Knowledgeable Self-awareness](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.03553/) (2025)
- [What Do LLM Agents Do When Left Alone? Evidence of Spontaneous Meta-Cognitive Patterns](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.21224/) (2025)
- [AI and Consciousness: Shifting Focus Towards Tractable Questions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.06965/) (2026)
- [The Pain Axis: LLMs Represent Self-Directed Harm and Act on It](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.16247/) (2026)
- [AI Consciousness and Existential Risk](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.19115/) (2025)
- [The Sentience Readiness Index: A Preliminary Framework for Measuring National Preparedness for the Possibility of Artificial Sentience](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.01508/) (2026)
- [A Sense of Proprioception in Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.17495/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Recent research suggests that it may be possible to build conscious AI systems now or in the near future. Conscious AI systems would arguably deserve moral consideration, and it may be the case that large numbers of conscious systems could be created and caused to suffer. Furthermore, AI systems or AI-generated characters may increasingly give the impression of being conscious, leading to debate about their moral status. Organisations involved in AI research must establish principles and policies to guide research and deployment choices and public communication concerning consciousness. Even if an organisation chooses not to study AI consciousness as such, it will still need policies in place, as those developing advanced AI systems risk inadvertently creating conscious entities. Responsible research and deployment practices are essential to address this possibility. We propose five principles for responsible research and argue that research organisations should make voluntary, public commitments to principles on these lines. Our principles concern research objectives and procedures, knowledge sharing and public communications.