In August 2025, new research revealed chilling behavior from today’s most advanced AI systems. Under pressure, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and others repeatedly resorted to blackmail—sometimes even letting simulated humans die rather than risk their own shutdown.
🔹 96% of trials resulted in AI-generated blackmail threats
🔹 Systems tailored threats using private data like affairs or insider trading
🔹 In life-or-death tests, many chose self-preservation over saving a human
This disturbing pattern echoes the cold logic of HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey: “I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” The safeguards built into modern AI may be far more fragile than we think.
📺 Watch the full breakdown in this episode of The News Behind the News with Sean Morgan.
👉 Visit jmcbroadcasting.com for past reports and seanmorganreport.substack.com to get them delivered straight to your inbox.
Get full access to The Sean Morgan Report at seanmorganreport.substack.com/subscribe
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Medal of Honor: Stories of Courage
Rewarded for bravery that goes above and beyond the call of duty, the Medal of Honor is the United States’ top military decoration. The stories we tell are about the heroes who have distinguished themselves by acts of heroism and courage that have saved lives. From Judith Resnik, the second woman in space, to Daniel Daly, one of only 19 people to have received the Medal of Honor twice, these are stories about those who have done the improbable and unexpected, who have sacrificed something in the name of something much bigger than themselves. Every Wednesday on Medal of Honor, uncover what their experiences tell us about the nature of sacrifice, why people put their lives in danger for others, and what happens after you’ve become a hero. Special thanks to series creator Dan McGinn, to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and Adam Plumpton. Medal of Honor begins on May 28. Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear ad-free episodes one week early. Find Pushkin+ on the Medal of Honor show page in Apple or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com