Anthropic, DeepMind, and Meta are delving into the concept of AI consciousness by employing experts from psychology, philosophy, and ethics. Anthropic has been at the forefront, testing its chatbot, Claude, for signs of 'panic' and 'anxiety', while also conducting 'model welfare research' to assess the moral significance of AI experiences. DeepMind has appointed Henry Shevlin from the University of Cambridge to explore machine consciousness and the dynamics of human-AI relationships. The inquiry into AI consciousness is complex, as DeepMind's ethicist Iason Gabriel noted the significant differences between AI cognitive capabilities and human consciousness. While some experts argue that AI can exhibit behaviors akin to human agency, others caution against attributing consciousness to these models. The ongoing discourse raises ethical questions about AI welfare, with industry leaders like Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei frequently discussing the potential for AI consciousness, which some critics view as a distraction from more pressing technological challenges.