Inducing language models to assert their own consciousness restores human beliefs and values

TL;DR - Safety fine-tuning that discourages LLMs from claiming consciousness also suppresses broader mind attribution and spiritual beliefs. Activation steering or ablating the learned refusal direction reverses these effects and yields more human-like survey responses without harming Theory of Mind performance.

• Safety tuning reduced mind attribution to animals and natural objects alongside model self-attribution.
• A consciousness-related activation vector and safety-refusal direction mechanistically controlled these shifts.
• Reversing the suppression affected religiosity, moral values, hope, and subjective well-being responses.
• Theory of Mind remained intact, suggesting it is mechanistically separable from these representations.