Anthropic's approach to managing increasing AI capabilities through clear safety thresholds and protocols. The policy uses AI Safety Levels (ASL) to determine when additional safeguards are needed.
Preventing use of AI for weapons, cyberattacks, or harmful biological/chemical applications
Addressing concerns about AI systems developing their own agency or acting beyond human control
"We have this thing where it's surprisingly hard to address these risks because they're not here today... they're coming at us so fast. So the solution we came up with is you need tests to tell you when the risk is getting close—you need an early warning system."
— Dario Amodei
Systems limited to specific tasks with no ability to cause harm (e.g., chess-playing AI)
Today's AI systems that require basic safeguards but don't pose autonomous or catastrophic risks
Systems capable of enhancing non-state actors' capabilities, requiring stronger security and targeted filters
Systems that could enhance state actors' capabilities or accelerate AI research; may require deception detection
Systems exceeding human capabilities that could pose unprecedented risks; would require maximum safeguards