Can AI feel pain?

Should you be nice to your chatbot? Anthropic says its Claude models will be able to end conversations if users are needlessly cruel. Thomas Germain and Jessica Maddox ask why AI companies are increasingly talking about AI welfare, and what it could mean for the rest of us if the industry starts weighing a model's wellbeing against ours.

Tom and Jess dig into the research behind the claims, the online backlash over an "AI torture chamber," and why consciousness is still an open question for scientists and philosophers.

Plus, Jess reveals her college freshmen don't know who Jake Paul is. Is going viral a thing of the past, and what replaces it when the internet splinters into millions of niches?

The Interface is your weekly guide to the tech rewiring your week and your world. Hosted by journalist Thomas Germain and “professor of the internet” Jessica Maddox, each episode unpacks, week by week, how technology is shaping all our futures. No jargon. Just two sharp voices debating the stories that matter - whether they shook a government, broke the internet, or quietly tipped the balance of power.

New episodes drop every Wednesday on BBC Sounds in the UK. Outside the UK, find us on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts, or watch the video version on YouTube (search “The Interface podcast”). To get in touch with the team: [email protected]

The Interface is a BBC Studios production. Producer: Becca Bryers Executive Editor: Philip Sellars