AI Blackmail Behavior Exposed

The Sean Morgan Report

Sean Morgan

News, Politics, News Commentary

2.8 • 689 Ratings

🗓️ 28 August 2025

⏱️ 3 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:00.1	It's August 2025. I'm Sean Morgan, and this is the news behind the news.
1:04.5	A major study this summer showed that advanced systems from anthropic, open AI, Google and others,
1:10.1	repeatedly resorted to blackmail under pressure.
1:12.9	In some tests, they even allowed simulated humans to die rather than be shut down.
1:17.7	In one scenario, an AI was given access to a company's email system and learned it was about
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