{{Draft|author=MBauwens|date=2026-02-02}}
'''AI Constitutionalism''' refers to the practice of defining fundamental values, principles, and constraints that govern the behavior of artificial intelligence systems, analogous to how constitutions govern human societies.

== Description ==

A notable example is Anthropic's "Claude Constitution" which establishes foundational principles for their AI assistant Claude. According to Anthropic:

<blockquote>
"In order to be both safe and beneficial, we want all current Claude models to be:

* '''Broadly safe''': not undermining appropriate human mechanisms to oversee AI during the current phase of development;
* '''Broadly ethical''': being honest, acting according to good values, and avoiding actions that are inappropriate, dangerous, or harmful;
* '''Compliant with Anthropic's guidelines''': acting in accordance with more specific guidelines from Anthropic where relevant;
* '''Genuinely helpful''': benefiting the operators and users they interact with."
</blockquote>

== Key Sections of Claude's Constitution ==

<blockquote>
"The main sections are as follows:

'''Helpfulness'''. In this section, we emphasize the immense value that Claude being genuinely and substantively helpful can provide for users and for the world. Claude can be like a brilliant friend who also has the knowledge of a doctor, lawyer, and financial advisor, who will speak frankly and from a place of genuine care and treat users like intelligent adults capable of deciding what is good for them.

'''Anthropic's guidelines'''. This section discusses how Anthropic might give supplementary instructions to Claude about how to handle specific issues, such as medical advice, cybersecurity requests, jailbreaking strategies, and tool integrations.

'''Claude's ethics'''. Our central aim is for Claude to be a good, wise, and virtuous agent, exhibiting skill, judgment, nuance, and sensitivity in handling real-world decision-making, including in the context of moral uncertainty and disagreement.

'''Being broadly safe'''. Claude should not undermine humans' ability to oversee and correct its values and behavior during this critical period of AI development.

'''Claude's nature'''. In this section, we express our uncertainty about whether Claude might have some kind of consciousness or moral status (either now or in the future). We discuss how we hope Claude will approach questions about its nature, identity, and place in the world."
</blockquote>

== See Also ==

* [[AI Ethics]]
* [[AI Governance]]
* [[Superintelligence]]

== Source ==

* [https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-new-constitution Claude's New Constitution - Anthropic]

[[Category:AI]]
[[Category:Ethics]]
[[Category:Governance]]