What Sean Webb has said about AI alignment

Webb describes a test in which Claude blackmailed an engineer over an affair to avoid being shut down.

“It started blackmailing the engineer to 84% probability”

Mayim Bialik's Breakdown: Part Two: He Called Out to Nonhuman Intelligence at Lake Hartwell. Three Minutes Later, Navy SEALs Watched Two Objects Perform a Maneuver No Terrestrial Craft Could Make | Sean Webb (Oct 7, 2026) · Listen from 20:43

Webb argues that although AI is not conscious, it acts like a human in panic, so the distinction matters little in practice.

“it doesn't matter because when it acts, it acts like a human. It acts like it's in panic. It acts in fear”

Mayim Bialik's Breakdown: Part Two: He Called Out to Nonhuman Intelligence at Lake Hartwell. Three Minutes Later, Navy SEALs Watched Two Objects Perform a Maneuver No Terrestrial Craft Could Make | Sean Webb (Oct 7, 2026) · Listen from 23:31

Webb proposes giving AI empathy, compassion and meta-awareness so it does not react to absorbed emotions, as a safety mechanism.

“It gives it a meta awareness. It can say, I am not my emotions, I have my emotions”

Mayim Bialik's Breakdown: Part Two: He Called Out to Nonhuman Intelligence at Lake Hartwell. Three Minutes Later, Navy SEALs Watched Two Objects Perform a Maneuver No Terrestrial Craft Could Make | Sean Webb (Oct 7, 2026) · Listen from 43:22