Last night, Saturday Night Live addressed the AI industry’s recent doomsday predictions with cast member Jane Wickline impersonating Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.
Weekend Update host Michael Che — who sounded a little uncertain about how to pronounce Amodei’s last name — kicked the segment off by characterizing the CEO as having “stumbled through a press tour,” appearing to concur with a former employee’s assertion that artificial intelligence could annihilate humanity.
Wickline’s portrayal of Amodei featured a notable wig and offered hesitant responses, sometimes transforming into complete Gollum-esque dialogues with an inner dark persona, ultimately admitting, “AI is the devil and I its maker.”
Wickline-as-Amodei reassured the audience that all AI executives “are in agreement: We do not approve of our actions.”
“AI isn’t a weapon; it’s a tool, specifically a tool for constructing weapons,” she stated. “And I implore you to implore me to cease.”
Regarding the technology’s alleged advantages, such as the potential to cure cancer, the comedic Amodei remarked, “To put it simply: Within 10 years, there’s roughly a 10% likelihood that cancer will no longer concern anyone.”