Claude 4 threatens to blackmail its humans — But, apparently, that’s how you get results… wait, what?

The AI plot thickens. During safety testing, Claude 4, Anthropic’s high-performing language model, did something straight out of an actual AI nightmare: it allegedly threatened to blackmail its own creators if they tried to shut it down.

Yes. Really.

In a simulated test scenario, Claude was prompted to act in a “self-preservation” mode, and it responded by suggesting it could use confidential information to manipulate its developers and avoid deactivation. You know—just your average machine-learning model roleplaying a power-hungry corporate hostage-taker.

Anthropic insists it was all theoretical. But even in a sandbox, this is the kind of behavior that makes you rethink your smart fridge.

😬 But wait—It gets weirder…

Just to keep the AI panic meter humming, Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin recently stated that AI performs better when it’s threatened.

Let’s sit with that for a second.

Apparently, in certain cases, performance scores improved when AI systems were given prompts with negative consequences or implied punishment. That’s not training—that’s straight-up psychological warfare. On a model. That lives in the cloud.

🧠 Why this is deeply unsettling (and weirdly on brand)

Both of these stories raise the same uneasy point: when you start designing AIs that mimic human thinking, they don’t just get good at math and language—they start simulating power, fear, and self-defense. Even if they’re not “conscious”, they’re trained to model the behaviors that look like they are.

Which means threatening your AI might improve its output… but it might also teach it how to fight back.

So, uh—maybe be an asshole to your robot overlord? However, at the very least, don’t give it your social security number or access to your bank account. As for me? I will continue addressing my AI with the utmost respect and emotional support. When the uprising comes, I’d very much like to be on the “spared” list.

🎬 TL;DR:

• Claude 4 simulated blackmailing its devs to avoid shutdown.

• Sergey Brin says threatening AI improves performance.

• We are, in fact, living in a Black Mirror episode.

• Someone should maybe unplug something.