
Mustafa Suleyman — AI is hacking our empathy circuits
From Azeem Azhar's Exponential View by Azeem Azhar
February 5, 2026 · 50 min · Episode 99
About this episode
A conversation with Mustafa Suleyman about the implications of seemingly conscious AI and the concept of a 'fourth class of being'.
A week before OpenClaw was released, I recorded a prescient conversation with Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI and co-founder of DeepMind. We talked about what happens when AI starts to seem conscious – even if it isn’t. Today, you get to hear our conversation. Mustafa has been sounding the alarm about what he calls “seemingly conscious AI” and the risk of collective AI psychosis for a long time. We discussed this idea of the “fourth class of being” – neither human, tool, nor nature – that AI is becoming and all it brings with itself.
People in this episode
Guest: Mustafa Suleyman
Topics covered
- AI
- technology
- ethics
- business
- psychology
Keywords
- seemingly conscious AI
- collective AI psychosis
- fourth class of being
- Microsoft AI
- DeepMind
Mentioned in this episode
Products: OpenClaw
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