SNL Weekend Update: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on A.I.'S Threat to Humanity [video]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nvne3LzBls

Comments

tptacekSep 27, 2026, 6:35 PM
This is the best thing Jane Wickline has done. I worried about whether she was on the bubble because she's so situational (I think that's a good thing), but clearly she's got staying power.
The_BladeSep 27, 2026, 6:54 PM
i just learned her partner is named Henry Hornbuckle now this is power couple we deserve but not the one we need right now
AboutplantsSep 27, 2026, 7:34 PM
Her mother also just happens to be Lorne Michaels long term assistant
thunkySep 27, 2026, 9:46 PM
And her father worked for Letterman.
sippingabonedrySep 27, 2026, 7:01 PM
Is this supposed to be funny?

Hard to comprehend how we've gone from Norm MacDonald being so relentlessly bold he was fired, to this sterility, in 30 years.

MattyRadSep 28, 2026, 1:28 AM
I smirked at the opening joke. But yeah, in true SNL fashion, it's toothless. In this case, they repeated the same joke, with a bunch of nonsequiters. Pretty typical.

SNL has never been funny, at least not in my adulthood. For instance, I got chummed by YouTube, and hooked into watching Tiny Horse, which was embarrassing for both the actors and viewers alike. The the skits play like pre-recorded improv.

swed420Sep 27, 2026, 7:31 PM
> Hard to comprehend how we've gone from Norm MacDonald being so relentlessly bold he was fired, to this sterility, in 30 years.

Is it, though?

Wouldn't it be more strange if the former didn't eventually lead to the latter?

nunezSep 27, 2026, 11:52 PM
Listen to a Dario interview. I think it's pretty on the mark
swed420Sep 28, 2026, 12:06 AM
I didn't watch the OP. I just know most actually controversial content almost never makes it to broadcast these days.

Hating on AI or its CEO doesn't seem very risky or controversial (for now [0])

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49824686

RachelFSep 27, 2026, 8:22 PM
Or George Carlin - perhaps it's just me, but modern shows aren't that funny anymore.
2III7Sep 27, 2026, 7:27 PM
Dario?
queenkjuulSep 27, 2026, 7:28 PM
30 years is a long ass time. Did you miss what happened to the Simpsons over 30 years?
Chance-DeviceSep 27, 2026, 7:38 PM
Man, the Simpsons stopped being funny a few years in, I have no idea what they’ve even been doing since then.
queenkjuulSep 27, 2026, 8:11 PM
"A few years" is like ten, in their case. Homer v New York is like season 9 or 10

But it falls off very quickly after that, that it's still on the air today is elder abuse

tuesdaynightSep 27, 2026, 10:58 PM
I think they are joking. I would be surprised if someone thinks that 30 fucking years are too little time to something to change
ok_dadSep 28, 2026, 4:00 AM
I’m surprised that people expect no change over 30 years. Of course a show like SNL will change, it’s the cast of Theseus.
nunezSep 27, 2026, 11:50 PM
I listened to the interview that Dario did with Anderson Cooper after seeing this video.

"Nah, this is slapstick; she was clearly trying for laughs though the Gollum thing was absolutely hilarious."

But no. She ABSOLUTELY CRUSHED. I know Dario is a very smart Dude, but he gives heavy SBF vibes on camera.

chewsSep 27, 2026, 7:09 PM
I urge you to urge me to stop is critical Super Dario
Chance-DeviceSep 27, 2026, 8:33 PM
gib444Sep 27, 2026, 9:27 PM
Much better, but it's still SNL. They seem to do a slightly better job at not breaking character.

Larry Dean as King Charles is ... freaky.

Kind of feels wrong to satirise Diana though. Maybe I'm over-sensitive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5krXOvokj1c is hilarious lol. "Taking the artual parsh" "I'll leave you to it"

jasonm23Sep 28, 2026, 2:21 AM
I miss The Day Today.
bitwizeSep 27, 2026, 11:06 PM
"This is ook-waeid"
bitwizeSep 27, 2026, 6:55 PM
When Dario talks to himself sotto voce and then answers himself in a raspy voice, Gollum-like, made me lose it. I once encountered a severely cognitively deficient individual on the bus who calmed himself in the exact same fashion. It's almost a perfectly succinct psychological snapshot of the character they're trying to create.
selimthegrimSep 27, 2026, 9:19 PM
Pray tell which NORTA bus line this was so I can add it to my list of lines to avoid, like the 8 where I had to duck as a AK 47 wielding car crossed in front of us perpendicularly firing at another one in front
bitwizeSep 28, 2026, 6:04 AM
It was MBTA. I'm from the northeast.
nullcSep 27, 2026, 7:40 PM
They missed an opportunity to talk about 'my precious AI' or have the gollum-like voice talk in claudeisms ('lever', 'honest take', 'load bearing'). I wasn't entirely clear on the skits working theory, is this a crazy guy that thinks he has the one ring but really has a cereal box toy?
MBCookSep 27, 2026, 7:47 PM
“My precious” would have been too on the nose for the Gollum part for me.

Claudisms could be fun but probably too obscure for the target audience.

uncivilizedSep 27, 2026, 8:14 PM
I imagine 99% of viewers have never seen Dario speak either.
MBCookSep 27, 2026, 8:35 PM
I haven’t myself. I don’t know his name. So in many ways, I’m a more normal person. I’m aware they keep claiming that AI will kill everyone, but that’s about as much as I know. I didn’t even know if the CEO was claiming it or just underlings.

It wasn’t until I saw comments here that I found out they weren’t making up the gollum thing and he apparently talks to himself a bit like that.

jihadjihadSep 27, 2026, 7:20 PM
I know it’s a little OT, but I keep seeing the same misquotation all over the place. Right at the beginning Michael Che refers to the claim that “there’s a 10% chance that AI could wipe out humanity within 10 years.”

But that isn’t what the often-misquoted current and former Anthropic employees said. They said it was a 10% chance of it happening by the end of the current decade [0], i.e. by 2030, not 2036.

0: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/09/anthropic...

pj_mukhSep 27, 2026, 7:21 PM
But what does it matter? It’s not like that number is based on any science. It’s literally p (doom | vibes).
someothherguyySep 27, 2026, 7:25 PM
what does the scientific literature say then?
pj_mukhSep 27, 2026, 7:29 PM
Unfortunately, this question was never asked by any news organization or of Coxon as he ran to the press. People who would usually ask to "see the work" never did because it comfortably confirmed their biases.

Specifically, I have no idea what the research says, or even if it exists, I wish we had a system to figure that out instead of exciting Twitter "whistleblower" threads.

ragequittahSep 28, 2026, 5:19 AM
I feel like if the doomers are correct and AGI happens research can't say anything about it. We won't be able to predict the outcome of something more intelligent than us or that can disrupt society so thoroughly. It's already causing major problems.
nmcaSep 27, 2026, 7:26 PM
You are wrong. The confusion arises because Coxon said “within the decade” with no associated probability and Hubinger said “within the next decade” at 10%.
Chance-DeviceSep 27, 2026, 7:16 PM
It’s not funny. It could be, Dario is idiosyncratic enough they could have done a really good send up of him, this just wasn’t it.
MBCookSep 27, 2026, 7:52 PM
Yeah it wasn’t great. Other parts of this week’s Weekend Update were better like the Meta AI character having the same dead eyes as Zuck or Tucker Carlson discussing movies. That wasn’t great but had some fun in pure ridiculousness.

Either way the fact this is even a sketch says a lot about where we are. They clearly think enough people know about this discussion, and him specifically, to be able to pull this off. If you made an SNL sketch about other people HN talks about the audience would just be totally confused and lost.

He has earned the very dubious honor of joining Elizabeth Holmes and Zuckerberg as “weirdo tech people to make fun of”.

troupoSep 27, 2026, 7:22 PM
To be honest I struggle to understand why SNL endures. It has never been funny with very very few exceptions.
lostmsuSep 27, 2026, 7:45 PM
Video unavailable

The uploader has not made this video available in your country

hurfdurfSep 27, 2026, 8:25 PM
Was expecting it to be US-only, but the list of blocked countries is odd.

Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Algeria, France, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Comoros (the), Luxembourg, Morocco, Monaco, Martinique, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Réunion, Seychelles, Tunisia, Wallis and Futuna, Mayotte

_diyarSep 27, 2026, 9:02 PM
I assume NBC has distribution deals with a handful of channels who air SNL in their respective countries.

And most of the countries on this list probably fall under some French channel’s domain since they are dependencies (edit: or former colonies).

TheAceOfHeartsSep 27, 2026, 6:42 PM
I generally don't think SNL is very funny but I think it's quite socially healthy that they make fun of the political and economic elites. I wonder if we mapped out their targets if there would be any glaring omissions that would stand out.

This video didn't make me laugh but I appreciate the flexing of the first amendment. They should continue with other AI-related figures.

rudedoggSep 27, 2026, 6:57 PM
Agreed. I wish they would have thrown in a "guardrails to stop me, but mostly my competitors" so the public would think about that possibility more.
charcircuitSep 27, 2026, 6:56 PM
I disagree there are so many other ways to be funny than making fun of someone's stuttering. We shouldn't be bullying people delivering trillions of dollars of value to society.
pluto_modadicSep 27, 2026, 7:10 PM
the idea of a caricature is to exaggerate the features someone is most insecure about. That's what Spitting Image is.
charcircuitSep 27, 2026, 7:11 PM
That is literally bullying. especially when those insecurities are something that can not be fixed. You can't excuse bullying because "it's for humor." It's cruel.
jakubmazanecSep 27, 2026, 7:48 PM
Search "punching down vs punching up in comedy" and you'll understand why it's not bullying.
charcircuitSep 27, 2026, 8:23 PM
I still don't get it. Especially with shows with large distribution merely being a public figure pails in comparison. Dario has no ability to defend himself here. Any post he makes on social media is unable to reach the same people. The idea that public figures can be bullied and harassed just serves bullies' interest in defining a way to morally continue their antics of hurting others.
cannonpalmsSep 27, 2026, 7:35 PM
Bullying implies a power imbalance that does not exist here
charcircuitSep 27, 2026, 8:11 PM
If you can't see it as jocks bullying the nerds, then see it as just harassment. You are getting caught up on the exact words and not that it makes whoever a jerk to put people down.
queenkjuulSep 27, 2026, 7:31 PM
I can excuse bullying powerful people in all cases, especially when it's funny
owebmasterSep 27, 2026, 7:28 PM
You can't bully someone so much more powerful. Bullying is saying AI will replace devs, 10% chance of everybody dying, etc.
johnnyanmacSep 27, 2026, 7:27 PM
I think Dario will be fine. I don't have much sympathy.

And yes, it is indeed because he's a billionaire actively shaping a worse society. Not because it's okay to make fun of impediments when it's on rich people.

mcvSep 27, 2026, 11:07 PM
> We shouldn't be bullying people delivering trillions of dollars of value to society.

Sure, but what about the people who consume trillions of dollars of value?

verdvermSep 27, 2026, 5:46 PM
I for one am glad to see society moving from deference to skepticism of these valley elite
DonHopkinsSep 27, 2026, 6:12 PM
It's all just a big scam to scare the public into buying robot insurance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4Gh_IcK8UM

BearOsoSep 27, 2026, 6:40 PM
In reality, it is a big scam to trick the public into thinking AI is dangerous and needs to be regulated. Then the government can limit it so only the preferred companies can continue to develop it.

It's because both frontier companies are worried about plateauing and there's no barrier to competition. They both have upcoming IPOs, too.

GudSep 28, 2026, 6:34 AM
In the hands of the wrong people, AI IS dangerous! And it IS in the hands of the wrong people!
pvab3Sep 27, 2026, 7:21 PM
To be fair, I think most of this is sci-fi brain rot, but the fact that 2 trillion-dollar companies supposedly have RSI as their #1 priority by a long shot is concerning to me
verdvermSep 27, 2026, 7:35 PM
The I in RSI... Improvement or Immolation... tbd...
BluecobraSep 27, 2026, 6:26 PM
An insurance policy with a robot plan? Certainly, I’m too old!
layer8Sep 27, 2026, 6:29 PM
Does it apply when robo-advisors make bad investments?
verdvermSep 27, 2026, 6:16 PM
lol, that's good

Lawfare Media recently, actually proposed a mutualize insurance system for Ai

https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/bootstrapping-frontier-...

I don't think it such a bad idea that the Big Ai labs put money into a fund for their negligence, but that should not relieve them of criminal liabilities

my consternation is that they likely have sufficient money to avoid consequences, like the sacks and the opioid epidemic, two-tier justice system at it's finest...

monkaijuSep 27, 2026, 7:36 PM
Pretty funny tbh, it is amazing these clowns have so much influence over such large investments...
gib444Sep 27, 2026, 7:08 PM
Her character's voice at times reminds me of that Rick and Morty court room sketch. NSFW. Pretty hilarious:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vN_PEmeKb0

MBCookSep 27, 2026, 7:45 PM
Seems like a gollum thing to me.
AtlasBarfedSep 27, 2026, 7:27 PM
Hey how about we go back to LLM/AI being a simple knowledge request service? You have a model trained on data, you request a text or media response from that knowledge model.

No agents. And if someone loops the response into an agent, well, then they are legally liable for personally doing that.

dgellowSep 27, 2026, 8:08 PM
I’m looking so much forward to the bubble popping and LLM to be seen as a standard software. They were so much more interesting without the whole absurd 14y-old-first-sci-fi hype around them :(
iAMkenoughSep 27, 2026, 5:58 PM
How long until the President of the United States threatens to pull licenses for NBC over their anti-AI viewpoint?
bstsbSep 27, 2026, 6:07 PM
it’s alright, they’re making fun of the “security risk” Anthropic’s CEO, not their darling Altman
kanwisherSep 27, 2026, 6:40 PM
Trump doesn’t like Dario, he has been invited to White House I guess to make him stop causing drama https://x.com/Polymarket/status/2104238992254222679?s=20
Deprogrammer9Sep 27, 2026, 7:34 PM
[dead]
ChamberPotSniffSep 27, 2026, 6:16 PM
[dead]
ZigurdSep 27, 2026, 6:28 PM
[flagged]
ok123456Sep 27, 2026, 7:10 PM
Something about the lack of socialization leads tech people into these off-putting ego cults.

While it's not exactly the traditional Randian objectivism you're alluding to, effective altruism adds an extra step: it ostensibly helps people. But, ultimately, it's a distinction without difference: no one escapes the dialectic. Individuals, especially ones cloistered off from the world, are not good arbiters of what will make the world better, or of understanding the higher-order effects of their actions.

nba456_Sep 27, 2026, 6:42 PM
Nothing Ayn Rand about pushing for regulations.
kennywinkerSep 27, 2026, 6:53 PM
I think the Ayn Rand thing is more about "the I'm getting mine, f everyone else". However the next 5-10 years shake out, if you're ultra rich today you'll almost definitely be ultra rich in 10 years. Probably ultra-richer. Ayn Rand wasn't just about free markets, she was about individualism over collectivism. Don't worry about how your actions will effect society, worry about what's best for yourself and society will work itself out.
malfistSep 27, 2026, 6:53 PM
Sure, pushing for regulations.

What are they doing now to stop their harms? They're not bound to commit as much harm as possible just because government hasn't told them to knock it off, they can just, not.

The_BladeSep 27, 2026, 6:49 PM
yeah this isn't just moving the goalposts it suddenly started playing Gaelic football but this all seems a lot more Ellsworth Toohey
GaryBlutoSep 27, 2026, 6:49 PM
"Ayn Rand" unfortunately seems to have become shorthand on HN for "politics I disagree with". I wonder how long it's going to be until I see somebody here describes the CCP as "Randian".
verdvermSep 27, 2026, 6:53 PM
The EA folks are not happy with the newfound HN criticisms either

If I may... a drEAk meme

(⌐_⌐)ノ Empathy

(•ᴗ•)つ Apathy

kanwisherSep 27, 2026, 6:39 PM
Sorry Dario is the exact opposite of Ayn Rand, he wants the government to manage his industry cause he thinks it will be good for him. More likely all his competitors are more libertarian like Ayn Rand writes about
malfistSep 27, 2026, 6:54 PM
Libertarian freedom for me and my friends, harsh regulatory capture for my enemies
kennywinkerSep 27, 2026, 6:57 PM
Notoriously, Ayn Rand only believed deregulation. Her books are just the phrase "deregulation is good" over and over and over.
ZigurdSep 27, 2026, 8:41 PM
She styled herself a philosopher not a practitioner. Has she been more of the letter she might've realized that regulatory capture is even more clever than deregulation.
lazyasciiartSep 27, 2026, 7:30 PM
Except the ones joining his call for regulation, obviously.
slopinthebagSep 27, 2026, 7:02 PM
rand is when bad politics?
bogzzSep 27, 2026, 6:39 PM
It's pretty difficult for me to imagine a turnaround there. Disenshittification would make shareholders irate.
starkdSep 27, 2026, 7:45 PM
How did everyone forget how to be funny? It's like there's a formula that's been patented and hidden away so no one else can find it.
aleksandrmSep 27, 2026, 7:29 PM
Why is this on the front page of HN?
GolfPopperSep 27, 2026, 7:44 PM
For a while, it has felt like anything LLM-related hits the front page.
gib444Sep 27, 2026, 8:14 PM
Thankfully https://www.unslop.news/ exists!
barbazooSep 27, 2026, 5:59 PM
> The uploader has not made this video available in your country

Copyright is another threat to humanity.

egeozcanSep 27, 2026, 6:00 PM
Here you go: https://www.instagram.com/reels/Ddxyuq4N9vj/ (had the same problem)
sajithdilshanSep 27, 2026, 6:58 PM
It's so stupid, like why would they block it on YouTube, but not on instagram. Is the copyright law only applicable in YouTube
WaterluvianSep 27, 2026, 6:03 PM
Copyright might be part of this; I haven’t thought that through. But this restriction is about whose turf they’re trying to push their product on. SNL has to be pushed through a different distributor in different regions.
vdfsSep 27, 2026, 8:01 PM
This a weird SNL thing, the only ones that does geo block on youtube (afaik), their quality is way down so not even worth enabling VPN to watch them