Google has fired one of its engineers Blake Lemoine, who claimed that the company's artificial intelligence system has feelings, BBC reported.

Last month, Blake Lemoine unveiled his theory that Google's language technology is sentient and therefore its "wants must be respected."

Google, as well as several artificial intelligence experts, refuted these claims, and on Friday the company confirmed that he had been fired.

Lemoine told the BBC that he was receiving legal advice on the matter.

Google said in a statement that Lemoine's allegations about the language model for conversational apps (Lamda) were "wholly unfounded" and that the company worked with him for "many months" to clarify it.

"So, it's regrettable that despite lengthy engagement on this topic, Blake still chose to persistently violate clear employment and data security policies that include the need to safeguard product information," the statement said.

Lamda is a breakthrough technology that Google says can engage in free conversations. It is the company's tool for creating chatbots.

Last month, Blake Lemoine made headlines when he claimed that Lamda demonstrates humanoid consciousness. This sparked a discussion among AI experts.

Lemoine, who worked as a Google AI executive, told The Washington Post that his job was to test whether the technology used discriminatory or hate speech.

He found that Lamda demonstrates self-awareness and can have conversations about religion, emotions and fears. This led Lemoine to believe that Lamda's impressive verbal skills might hide intelligence.

His conclusions were rejected by Google, and he himself was placed on paid leave for violating the company's privacy policy.

Lemoine then published a conversation he and another person had with Lamda to corroborate his claims.