Google engineer claims chatbot has become sentient

A Google engineer has claimed that a research system for generating chatbots has become sentient.
The company has dismissed his claims and placed him on paid leave after he took his case public, with his assertion now becoming viral across several social media platforms.
Blake Lemoine, who works for Google’s Responsible AI group, claimed that the chats he conducted with Google’s Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA) persuaded him that the program deserves to be treated as a sentient being.
Lemoine then took his case to colleagues at Google, who outright rejected his conclusion. He has continued to push his views, including to members of Congress and in public posts.
Google’s spokesperson, Brian Gabriel, stated, “Hundreds of researchers and engineers have conversed with LaMDA and we are not aware of anyone else making the wide-ranging assertions, or anthropomorphizing LaMDA, the way Blake has.”