Google · IEEE Spectrum AI
Google Deepmind’s New Resident Philosopher Tackles AI Ethics
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Henry Shevlin on human-AI relations, rogue AI, and AI consciousness.
Key facts
- Henry Shevlin on human-AI relations, rogue AI, and AI consciousness — These are among the cognitive and ethical questions that occupied philosopher Henry Shevlin at Cambridge University’s Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence
- Yet ordinary people in 2026 complain that they're coping with AI "slop" all over—in music, social media, writing, videos, to name only a few examples
- Though he remains active at Cambridge, he now spends 80 percent of his time at Google DeepMind (job title: “Philosopher”)
Summary
Henry Shevlin recently joined Google DeepMind as the AI company’s resident philosopher. How should humans relate to generative AI? These are among the cognitive and ethical questions that occupied philosopher Henry Shevlin at Cambridge University’s Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence. Shevlin spoke with IEEE Spectrum about why philosophers are drawn to AI, how humans and AIs relate to one another, fears of “rogue” AI and AI relationships that harm humans, and how the question of AI consciousness may never have a simple “yes” or “no” answer. What made you want to switch from full-time academic philosopher to spending much of your time at an AI Lab?