Over the weekend, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei became the subject of a television parody when the US comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) featured a spoof version of him telling viewers, “I urge you to urge me to stop.” The real Amodei did not appear on the programme.
Cast member Jane Wickline portrayed Amodei during the season 52 premiere of SNL. In the Weekend Update segment, Wickline's version of the Anthropic chief was invited for an interview that quickly descended into chaos. The resemblance was also notable, with Wickline sporting curly hair and glasses similar to Amodei's appearance.
The sketch opens with the fictional Amodei addressing his recent comments about the potential risks associated with AI. “I may have been alarming in my recent interviews, but I want to assure you that if we can pressure lawmakers to create guardrails, we will be able to stop me,” the character says.
STUTTERS, TWO PERSONALITIES AND AWKWARD ANSWERS
Wickline's portrayal of Amodei appears increasingly nervous as the interview progresses. When host Michael Che asks how Anthropic intends to ensure that AI will not kill humans, the character struggles to respond.
“So, so, so, so, so, so, so, that's a really hard question,” the fictional Amodei says. Che points out that the question should not really be difficult to answer.
The sketch then introduces a twist: Wickline's Amodei appears to have two personalities. One seems carefully trained to handle media appearances, while the other represents a much darker side.
As Wickline struggles to formulate an answer, viewers see the two versions interacting internally. The media-trained personality encourages him by saying, “Come on, Dario, you can do this,” while the other persona responds in a deep and intimidating voice, “I know.”
The internal dialogue does little to improve the situation. The character eventually declares, “AI is the devil, and I its maker,” delivering an answer that is hardly reassuring from someone portrayed as a leading AI developer.
Realising that his response has gone badly, the fictional Amodei makes another attempt. He points out that he is not the only technology leader who has raised concerns about AI and brings up OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
“Look, Sam Altman, myself, all the major AI players, we have talked about this extensively, and we are all on the same page here,” he says.
When asked what that “page” says, the character responds, “We do not condone what we are doing.”
CANCER WON'T BE A PROBLEM SOON
The sketch later turns to repeated claims from AI companies that the technology could eventually help cure cancer.
When Che points this out, Wickline's Amodei offers another unsettling answer: “Yeah, so, put it this way. In 10 years, there's about a 10 per cent chance that cancer won't be a problem for anyone.”
The line appears to reference comments from Anthropic safety lead Evan Hubinger, who has discussed a 10 per cent possibility that AI could cause human extinction within a decade.
Che reacts negatively to the way the statement is delivered, telling the fictional Amodei, “I don't like the way you're saying that, buddy.”
The character then attempts to explain his point through a hypothetical. He asks Che whether he would drink milk that could make his life easier but carried a 10 per cent chance of killing him.
Che immediately responds, “No!”
The answer appears to surprise the fictional Amodei, who simply asks, “Really?”
He then presents another scenario, asking whether Che would press a button if doing so would cause everyone to die. Che again says no, leaving the character visibly stunned.
Near the end of the sketch, the two versions of Amodei once again speak over one another. The media-trained personality tells himself, “Land the plane, Dario,” while the darker persona responds, “I can't.”
The character eventually concludes: “AI is not a weapon, it's a tool.... a tool for building weapons. And I urge you to urge me to stop.”
The audience repeatedly laughed throughout the segment, treating the increasingly bizarre exchange as comedy.
The sketch aired as the real Amodei has repeatedly spoken about the potential dangers of rapidly advancing AI and has called for slowing down development. Earlier this month, he warned that there were serious risks associated with AI and said the biggest potential danger could be the end of humanity.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has also spoken about AI-related risks, with his company recently pausing some AI development.
Technology executives are not the only people calling attention to the potential dangers. AI researchers have also voiced concerns. The debate intensified after former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon left the company and said AI laboratories were “gambling with our lives.”
OpenAI safety researcher Marcus Williams has similarly warned that humanity could become extinct because of AI in less than three years if current trends do not change.
However, some figures disagree with calls for slowing AI development. US President Donald Trump has previously mocked Amodei, accusing the Anthropic CEO of “pretending to be a perfect little angel.”
