Saturday Night Live addressed the AI industry’s recent warnings of doom last night, when cast member Jane Wickline offered her impression of Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. Weekend Update host Michael Che, who seemed a little unsure about how to pronounce Amodei’s last name, kicked off the segment by describing that the CEO had “stumbled upon a press tour” in which he apparently agreed with a former employee’s claim that artificial intelligence could destroy humanity. Wickline’s version of Amodei sported an impressive wig and delivered hesitant responses that occasionally devolved into full-on Gollum-style exchanges with his dark side, confessing at one point, “The AI is the devil and I am its creator.” Wickline-as-Amodei assured the audience that AI executives “are all on the same page here: we don’t condone what we’re doing.” “AI is not a weapon, it is a tool: a tool to build weapons,” he declared. “And I urge you to urge me to stop.” Regarding the supposed benefits of technology, such as the possibility of curing cancer, the fictional Amodei said: “Let’s put it this way: in 10 years, there is about a 10% chance that cancer will not be a problem for anyone.”
