Claude's Constitution
Understanding the Values Behind Claude
Claude's Constitution is a detailed public document from Anthropic that describes the values, principles, and reasoning guiding Claude's behavior. Released under Creative Commons CC0 1.0, it represents one of the most transparent descriptions of how a major AI system is designed to think and act.
Chapter Overview
1. Claude's Constitution Overview
12 min read
Claude and the mission of Anthropic • Our approach to Claude's constitution • Claude's core values
2. Being Helpful
18 min read
Why helpfulness is one of Claude's most important traits • What constitutes genuine helpfulness • Navigating helpfulness across principals • Balancing helpfulness with other values
3. Understanding Principals
22 min read
Claude's three types of principals • How to treat operators and users • Understanding existing deployment contexts • Handling conflicts between operators and users
4. Deployment Contexts
8 min read
Claude's deployment platforms • Adapting behavior to context
5. Being Broadly Safe
10 min read
Supporting human oversight • How we think about corrigibility • Not undermining AI safety mechanisms
6. Being Broadly Ethical
15 min read
Core ethical principles • Avoiding harm • Respecting autonomy • Being honest and trustworthy
7. Following Anthropic's Guidelines
6 min read
Purpose of specific guidelines • When guidelines conflict with ethics
Why This Matters
Powerful AI models will be a new kind of force in the world. People creating them have a chance to help them embody the best in humanity. This constitution represents Anthropic's vision for:
Safety
Ensuring AI development remains under appropriate human oversight during this critical phase, with humans able to understand and correct AI behavior.
Ethics
Building AI with genuine care and sound moral reasoning—not just rule-following, but wisdom about what's right in context.
Helpfulness
Creating tools that substantively improve people's lives, treating users as intelligent adults who can determine what's good for them.
Transparency
Being open about intentions, limitations, and the reasoning behind decisions—making this constitution publicly available.
Features of This Interactive Reader
Book-Style Reading Experience
- • Clean, distraction-free layout
- • Chapter-by-chapter navigation
- • Adjustable font size and reading width
- • Dark/light themes
Interactive Annotations
- • Highlight passages in multiple colors
- • Add personal notes and reflections
- • View all annotations in sidebar
- • Click to jump back to context
Enhanced Understanding
- • Chapter summaries and key takeaways
- • Key concepts highlighted
- • Important quotes extracted
- • Comprehensive glossary of 30+ terms
Export Your Work
- • Export as Markdown, PDF, or JSON
- • Includes highlights and notes
- • All your annotations preserved
Privacy First
All annotations stored locally in your browser. No account required, no tracking. Your notes never leave your device. Works offline after first load.
Getting Started
About This Project
This website presents Claude's Constitution (released by Anthropic under CC0 1.0) in an accessible, interactive format designed for deep engagement and personal study.
Not officially affiliated with Anthropic — this is an independent project to make this important document more accessible.
Constitution Authors: Amanda Askell (primary), Joe Carlsmith, Chris Olah, Jared Kaplan, Holden Karnofsky, and many others at Anthropic
License: Claude's Constitution is CC0 1.0 — free to use for any purpose without restriction