Microsoft—Microsoft published 'Humanist AI' code of conduct rejecting AI welfare/rights claims and barring weapons-related and manipulative model behavior

On September 14, 2026, Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman announced a provisional 'Humanist AI' code of conduct governing how Microsoft trains new AI models. The code commits that models must not assist with weapons development, must not produce violent content, must not communicate in ways 'beyond simple human understanding,' and must be designed to discourage patterns of interaction that cause excessive reliance or emotional dependence (addressing sycophancy). Suleyman said 'AI must be subordinate and always in service of people,' and the code explicitly rejects the premise that AI models could 'deserve welfare or hold rights' - a position in tension with Anthropic's active research program on model welfare, notable given Microsoft's $5 billion partnership with Anthropic. Two days later, Suleyman publicly criticized Anthropic's welfare-training approach as potentially hindering the ability to shut down misbehaving models.