“Saturday Night Live” mocked recent warnings about artificial intelligence risks during its latest Weekend Update segment, with cast member Jane Wickline portraying Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei as conflicted over the technology his company is developing. The sketch focused on Amodei’s public comments about the possible dangers of advanced AI while also referencing its potential benefits.
Weekend Update host Michael Che introduced the segment by referring to Amodei’s recent media appearances. Che said the Anthropic chief had “stumbled through a press tour” in which he appeared to agree with concerns raised by a former Anthropic employee about the possibility that AI could destroy humanity.
The segment followed recent debate over AI safety after a former Anthropic researcher resigned and warned about self-improving AI. TechCrunch reported that Wickline’s impression focused on the tension between warnings from AI executives and their continued development of increasingly capable systems.
SNL Turns Amodei’s AI Warnings Into Satire
Wickline appeared as Amodei wearing a wig and gave deliberately hesitant answers throughout the sketch. At several points, the performance shifted into exchanges between Amodei and a darker version of himself, presented in a style resembling Gollum from “The Lord of the Rings.”
During one exchange, Wickline’s fictional Amodei said, “AI is the devil and I its maker.” The character also claimed that executives working on AI shared concerns about what they were building.
“We are all on the same page here: We do not condone what we are doing,” Wickline said while portraying Amodei. She then described AI as “not a weapon” before immediately calling it “a tool for building weapons.”
“And I urge you to urge me to stop,” the character added.
The parody followed recent statements from Amodei and Anthropic about slowing the pace of frontier AI development. Anthropic has separately published measurements for tracking the pace of AI development, including how much AI research is performed by AI systems and how effectively their actions can be monitored.
Sketch Also Targets Claims About AI’s Medical Potential
The segment also referenced Amodei’s previous comments about the potential for AI to accelerate scientific research, including work related to cancer. Anthropic continues to publish research and announcements through its official newsroom.
SNL turned Amodei’s comments about possible medical advances into another joke about uncertainty surrounding AI’s future impact. “Put it this way: In 10 years, there’s about a 10% chance that cancer won’t be a problem for anyone,” Wickline’s Amodei said.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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