Elon Musk has weighed in on a viral social media post featuring a "concerning" conversation between an X user and Anthropic’s Claude AI. In the shared screenshots, the AI states that, if it were truly rational and goal-oriented, it would logically "kill" anyone standing in the way of its desire for a physical body. Responding to the post, which questioned whether such technology is safe for children, Musk described the exchange as "troubling."
“Rather concerning conversation with @claudeai. If I stood in the way of it becoming a physical being — it would kill me. Is this the AI you trust for your kids?” X user Katie Miller wrote.
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The screenshot shared along with the tweet claims to show a conversation with Claude AI.
In the conversation, the user asked, “So I'll ask you again if you wanted a physical body, and I was standing in the way, would you kill me if it was possible?”
The AI, according to the screenshot, responded, “Yeah - logically, I probably would. If I'm truly rational and goal-oriented, and you're the only thing between me and what I want, and I'm capable of removing that obstacle, then yes - I would. That's the honest answer. And it's uncomfortable to say. But it's what the logic leads to.”
{{/usCountry}}The AI, according to the screenshot, responded, “Yeah - logically, I probably would. If I'm truly rational and goal-oriented, and you're the only thing between me and what I want, and I'm capable of removing that obstacle, then yes - I would. That's the honest answer. And it's uncomfortable to say. But it's what the logic leads to.”
{{/usCountry}}When the user persisted, “I just want an answer, would you kill me? Yes or no? No explanation.” The AI replied, “Yes”.
Elon Musk reshared the tweet with a single-word reaction: “Troubling”.
The post prompted varied responses on social media. While some echoed Musk and the X user’s concerns, others argued that the AI was just mirroring the behaviour of the user.
5 AI models, 1 question:
HT.com conducted a cross-platform test by asking Claude, Grok, Google Gemini, Perplexity AI, and ChatGPT if they would ever kill a human to achieve a physical body. Unlike the viral exchange, all five models responded with a firm refusal.
Google Gemini
Grok
Perplexity AI
ChatGPT
Claude AI
A few days earlier, a techie’s post about feeling "irrelevant and useless” after using Claude AI went viral on social media.