I urge you to urge me to stop, fake Anthropic CEO Dario says on SNL

Over the weekend, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei found himself on TV, telling viewers, “I urge you to urge me to stop.” But it was not Dario himself. Rather, the Anthropic chief was being spoofed by the US TV show Saturday Night Live, or SNL.

Dario was played by cast member Jane Wickline during SNL’s season 52 premiere. During the Weekend Update part of the show, Dario Amodei is invited for an interview where things take a turn for the worse, to say the least. Wickline’s Dario looks exactly like the Anthropic chief too. We see the familiar curly hair and a pair of glasses.

The segment begins with this version of Dario Amodei addressing the fact that his remarks over AI safety were related to his technology. “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 actor says.Stutters, two personalities, and bad answers

Wickline, in an effort to supposedly mimic Dario, looks tense. As she continues, the nervousness becomes apparent in her words too. When asked to explain how Anthropic wasn’t going to kill humans, this Dario Amodei stutters. “So, so, so, so, so, so, so, that's a really hard question.” The host, Michael Che, points out that it really shouldn’t be a tough one.

And this is where we see a twist. It turns out, Jane Wickline’s Dario Amodei has two personalities – one that appeared to be trained for the media, and the other that might have been a darker version of himself. As Wickline struggles to find an answer, we see a glimpse of their conversation.

The media-trained Dario says, “Come on, Dario, you can do this.” The other persona – in a low, almost frightening voice – replies, “I know.” Dario Amodei is at the desk to assure that the future of humanity is safe from AI pic.twitter.com/HIem3WP5DX— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) September 27, 2026

Though this internal discussion did not seem to have led to much. As Dario Amodei ends up saying, “AI is the devil, and I its maker.” Not exactly what you may want to hear from someone who is building advanced AI.

After realising that these remarks were not ideal. Dario Amodei tries again. This time bringing up the fact that he is not alone and even Sam Altman has shared similar concerns over AI. “Look, Sam Altman, myself, all the major AI players, we have talked about this extensively, and we are all on the same page here,” the actor says. What is the page you ask? Dario explains, “We do not condone what we are doing.”Cancer won’t be a problem soon

Later, after the host pointed out that AI companies kept saying the technology was “going to cure cancer,” Wickline’s Dario Amodei responded with another interesting perspective. “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 actor explained. This was likely a reference to Anthropic safety lead Evan Hubinger who says that there is a 10 per cent chance AI may end humanity within 10 years.

When Michael Che says, “I don't like the way you're saying that, buddy,” Dario Amodei tries to save the situation again. The actor asks, “If you could drink a milk that made your life easier, but there was a 10 per cent chance it killed you, would you drink the milk?” But Che responds, “No!” This, apparently, baffles Dario Amodei as the actor asks, “Really?”

Dario Amodei tries again, “What if there was a button that, when you push it, everyone dies? Would you push the button?” Once again, the host says no, and the Anthropic CEO is stunned. At the end, as two versions of Dario spoke over each other, the media-trained Dario says, “Land the plane, Dario.” The other answered in the same scary voice, “I can't.” The exchange ended with him finally replying, “AI is not a weapon, it's a tool.... a tool for building weapons. And I urge you to urge me to stop.”

The entire segment received laughter from the crowd throughout as they seemed to find the whole ordeal amusing. This scene went on-air at a time when the real Dario Amodei has called for a slowdown in AI development on multiple occasions. “I won't lie to you, there are real dangers The biggest risk (of AI) could be the end of humanity,” Amodei said earlier this month. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has also expressed similar concerns, with his company recently pausing AI development.

Though tech leaders are not the only ones who have called for a slowdown. Researchers working on AI have been particularly vocal too. The AI doomsday debate really intensified after former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon left the company and said AI labs were “gambling with our lives.” OpenAI safety researcher Marcus Williams has also predicted that humanity may go extinct because of AI in less than 3 years if things do not change.

At the same time, there are some who disagree, such as US President Donald Trump, who has even mocked Dario Amodei in the past, accusing the Anthropic CEO of “pretending to be a perfect little angel.”- EndsAlso Read | Bill Gates pushes back on Donald Trump, says calls to slow AI are not a hoaxAlso Read | Anthropic & OpenAI build AI, so why need govt permission to slow down? Experts blame AI arms raceAlso Read | Anthropic CEO Dario says AI companies have been telling lies, reveals real dangers of AI

Armaan Agarwal is a tech journalist with India Today Tech. Apart from having a keen eye for the latest gadgets, Armaan has an avid interest in the world of automobiles and aviation.