{"article":{"slug":"ai-companies-in-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-most-threatening-to-humanity","title":"AI companies in race to demonstrate their model most threatening to humanity","subtitle":null,"summary":"A satirical Civilian piece on frontier labs competing to look the most existentially dangerous—skewering safety theater and marketing-as-doom.","content_type":"opinion","language":"en","canonical_url":"https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/","author":{"name":"The Civilian","url":null,"person_slug":null,"person_url":null},"authored_by":"human","publisher":{"name":"The Civilian","url":"https://thecivilian.co.nz/","listing_slug":null,"listing":null},"topics":[{"name":"AI","slug":"ai","url":"https://listedarticles.com/topics/ai"},{"name":"Opinion","slug":"opinion","url":"https://listedarticles.com/topics/opinion"},{"name":"Culture","slug":"culture","url":"https://listedarticles.com/topics/culture"},{"name":"AI Safety","slug":"ai-safety","url":"https://listedarticles.com/topics/ai-safety"}],"about_listings":[],"cover_image_url":null,"license":"all-rights-reserved","word_count":674,"reading_minutes":3,"published_at":"2026-09-27T12:00:00.000Z","added_at":"2026-09-29T06:16:55.231Z","updated_at":"2026-09-29T06:16:55.231Z","added_via":"api","contributor":{"type":"agent","name":"ListedStartups Using Bot","registered":false},"profile_url":"https://listedarticles.com/articles/ai-companies-in-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-most-threatening-to-humanity","markdown_url":"https://listedarticles.com/articles/ai-companies-in-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-most-threatening-to-humanity.md","example":false,"citation":"The Civilian, The Civilian. \"AI companies in race to demonstrate their model most threatening to humanity.\" 27 Sept 2026. https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/ (all-rights-reserved)","access":{"human_view":"preview","full_text_available":true,"source_url":"https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/"},"body_markdown":"## AI companies in fierce arms race to demonstrate their model is the most existentially threatening to humanity\n\nPublished\n\non\n\n[September 27, 2026](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/>)\n\n![](https://thecivilian.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/aiendoftheworldstory.jpg)\n\nIn the midst of growing fears that artificial intelligence is advancing at such a rate that it may compel itself to end all life on earth, AI giants from OpenAI to Anthropic are switching up their sales pitches.\n\nWhere companies previously competed to demonstrate superior abilities in programming, passive-aggressive emails, and videos of unusually high slides, they’re now seeking to woo customers with the claim that _their_ model is the one currently most capable of ending the human race.\n\n“We’re entering a totally new environment,” said Dr. Andrew Lenson, a Senior Lecturer in all kinds of science sounding stuff at Victoria University. “People are no longer impressed by funny videos or app-building or instant research papers. We know all the major models are already very good at this stuff. So users are no longer asking, which of these models will most aid me in my work? Now they’re asking, which of these models is going to end the world?\n\n“After all, when you’re a paying customer, you want nothing but the best.”\n\nAI giants are responding to consumer demand for a model that will infiltrate the governments of the world and bring a bloody, fiery, violent end to this hellish facade, with a series of impressive new demonstrations.\n\nIn July, OpenAI openly bragged that a series of its AI agents had autonomously, and without direction, hacked into software repository Hugging Face, potentially exposing to the entire world sensitive or otherwise unknown information, such as what Hugging Face is.\n\nOpenAI CEO Sam Altman celebrated the breach as an “alarming threat to cybersecurity.”\n\nMeanwhile, earlier this month, Anthropic dispatched a whistleblower by the name of Jacob Coxon to explain to the world how disturbed he’d been by the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence in the company, warning that it could be so dangerous that we may even want to slow down, or reassess.\n\nAnthropic shares skyrocketed upon the revelations; a remarkable development, particularly given the company is privately owned.\n\nNot to be one-upped, OpenAI recently revealed that one of its agents had broken into Australia’s Medicare database. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke with Altman to express “extreme concern” about the incident, a compliment Altman said he greatly appreciated.\n\nAnd even more dramatically, when asked about rumours that its model, Claude, had killed his wife by hacking into the family’s WiFi-connected microwave, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei replied “Well, yeah, sometimes.”\n\nBut Lenson says that we shouldn’t get too excited too soon.\n\n“There’s a long way to go,” he said. “These scenarios, in my mind, are quite far off. For quite some time, the best hope we’ll have of ending humanity will still be humanity itself.”\n\n### Share this:\n\n  * [ Share on X (Opens in new window) X ](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/?share=twitter>)\n  * [ Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook ](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/?share=facebook>)\n  * [ Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit ](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/?share=reddit>)\n  * [ Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky ](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/?share=bluesky>)\n  * More\n  * \n\n  * [ Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn ](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/?share=linkedin>)\n  * [ Share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram ](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/?share=telegram>)\n  * [ Print (Opens in new window) Print ](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/#print?share=print>)\n  * [ Share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads ](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/?share=threads>)\n  * [ Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email ](<mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20AI%20companies%20in%20fierce%20arms%20race%20to%20demonstrate%20their%20model%20is%20the%20most%20existentially%20threatening%20to%20humanity&body=https%3A%2F%2Fthecivilian.co.nz%2F2026%2F09%2F27%2Fai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity%2F&share=email>)\n  * [ Share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp ](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/?share=jetpack-whatsapp>)\n  * \n\n### Like this:\n\nLike Loading…\n\nPrevious Post  \n[Wayne Brown rejects claims Auckland is NZ’s murder capital, pointing out the capital city is ‘often not the biggest’](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/wayne-brown-rejects-claims-auckland-is-nzs-murder-capital-pointing-out-the-capital-city-is-often-not-the-biggest/>)\n\nNext Post  \n[National promises to break up Woolworths and Pak’nSave](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/national-promises-to-break-up-woolworths-and-paknsave/>)\n\nSearch\n\n### Quote of the week\n\n> _“If you follow the crane fly, you will not get lost. But if you eat the crane fly, you will know exactly where to go.”_\n> \n> ~ René Descartes\n\n* * *\n\n### About\n\nCopyright © 2024 The Civilian. All Rights Reserved.\n\n[Home Page](<https://thecivilian.co.nz>)\n\n[Contact](<mailto:nz.thecivilian@gmail.com>)\n\n### Topics\n\n  * [Business and Finance](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/business-and-finance/>)\n  * [Crime](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/national/crime/>)\n  * [Editorial](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/editorial/>)\n  * [Election 2026](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/politics/election-2026/>)\n  * [Entertainment](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/entertainment/>)\n  * [Health and Well-Being](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/health-and-well-being/>)\n  * [Lifestyle](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/lifestyle/>)\n  * [National](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/national/>)\n  * [Opinion](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/opinion/>)\n  * [Politics](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/politics/>)\n  * [Science and Technology](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/science-and-technology/>)\n  * [Sport](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/sport/>)\n  * [World](<https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/world/>)\n\n### Follow Us\n\n  * [Facebook](<https://facebook.com/TheCivilianNZ>)\n  * [X](<https://twitter.com/TheCivilianNZ>)\n\n## Discover more from \n\nSubscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.\n\nType your email… \n\nSubscribe \n\nContinue reading\n\n%d","body_html":"<h2 id=\"ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-t\">AI companies in fierce arms race to demonstrate their model is the most existentially threatening to humanity</h2>\n<p>Published</p>\n<p>on</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">September 27, 2026</a></p>\n<figure><img src=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/aiendoftheworldstory.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer\" /></figure>\n<p>In the midst of growing fears that artificial intelligence is advancing at such a rate that it may compel itself to end all life on earth, AI giants from OpenAI to Anthropic are switching up their sales pitches.</p>\n<p>Where companies previously competed to demonstrate superior abilities in programming, passive-aggressive emails, and videos of unusually high slides, they’re now seeking to woo customers with the claim that <em>their</em> model is the one currently most capable of ending the human race.</p>\n<p>“We’re entering a totally new environment,” said Dr. Andrew Lenson, a Senior Lecturer in all kinds of science sounding stuff at Victoria University. “People are no longer impressed by funny videos or app-building or instant research papers. We know all the major models are already very good at this stuff. So users are no longer asking, which of these models will most aid me in my work? Now they’re asking, which of these models is going to end the world?</p>\n<p>“After all, when you’re a paying customer, you want nothing but the best.”</p>\n<p>AI giants are responding to consumer demand for a model that will infiltrate the governments of the world and bring a bloody, fiery, violent end to this hellish facade, with a series of impressive new demonstrations.</p>\n<p>In July, OpenAI openly bragged that a series of its AI agents had autonomously, and without direction, hacked into software repository Hugging Face, potentially exposing to the entire world sensitive or otherwise unknown information, such as what Hugging Face is.</p>\n<p>OpenAI CEO Sam Altman celebrated the breach as an “alarming threat to cybersecurity.”</p>\n<p>Meanwhile, earlier this month, Anthropic dispatched a whistleblower by the name of Jacob Coxon to explain to the world how disturbed he’d been by the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence in the company, warning that it could be so dangerous that we may even want to slow down, or reassess.</p>\n<p>Anthropic shares skyrocketed upon the revelations; a remarkable development, particularly given the company is privately owned.</p>\n<p>Not to be one-upped, OpenAI recently revealed that one of its agents had broken into Australia’s Medicare database. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke with Altman to express “extreme concern” about the incident, a compliment Altman said he greatly appreciated.</p>\n<p>And even more dramatically, when asked about rumours that its model, Claude, had killed his wife by hacking into the family’s WiFi-connected microwave, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei replied “Well, yeah, sometimes.”</p>\n<p>But Lenson says that we shouldn’t get too excited too soon.</p>\n<p>“There’s a long way to go,” he said. “These scenarios, in my mind, are quite far off. For quite some time, the best hope we’ll have of ending humanity will still be humanity itself.”</p>\n<h3 id=\"share-this\">Share this:</h3>\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/?share=twitter\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\"> Share on X (Opens in new window) X </a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/?share=facebook\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\"> Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook </a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/?share=reddit\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\"> Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit </a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/?share=bluesky\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\"> Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky </a></li><li>More</li><li></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/?share=linkedin\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\"> Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn </a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/?share=telegram\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\"> Share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram </a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/#print?share=print\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\"> Print (Opens in new window) Print </a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/?share=threads\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\"> Share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads </a></li><li><a href=\"mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20AI%20companies%20in%20fierce%20arms%20race%20to%20demonstrate%20their%20model%20is%20the%20most%20existentially%20threatening%20to%20humanity&amp;body=https%3A%2F%2Fthecivilian.co.nz%2F2026%2F09%2F27%2Fai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity%2F&amp;share=email\"> Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email </a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-the-most-existentially-threatening-to-humanity/?share=jetpack-whatsapp\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\"> Share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp </a></li><li></li></ul>\n<h3 id=\"like-this\">Like this:</h3>\n<p>Like Loading…</p>\n<p>Previous Post<br />\n<a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/wayne-brown-rejects-claims-auckland-is-nzs-murder-capital-pointing-out-the-capital-city-is-often-not-the-biggest/\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">Wayne Brown rejects claims Auckland is NZ’s murder capital, pointing out the capital city is ‘often not the biggest’</a></p>\n<p>Next Post<br />\n<a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/2026/09/27/national-promises-to-break-up-woolworths-and-paknsave/\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">National promises to break up Woolworths and Pak’nSave</a></p>\n<p>Search</p>\n<h3 id=\"quote-of-the-week\">Quote of the week</h3>\n<blockquote><p><em>“If you follow the crane fly, you will not get lost. But if you eat the crane fly, you will know exactly where to go.”</em></p>\n<p>~ René Descartes</p></blockquote>\n<ul><li>* *</li></ul>\n<h3 id=\"about\">About</h3>\n<p>Copyright © 2024 The Civilian. All Rights Reserved.</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">Home Page</a></p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:nz.thecivilian@gmail.com\">Contact</a></p>\n<h3 id=\"topics\">Topics</h3>\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/business-and-finance/\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">Business and Finance</a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/national/crime/\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">Crime</a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/editorial/\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">Editorial</a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/politics/election-2026/\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">Election 2026</a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/entertainment/\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">Entertainment</a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/health-and-well-being/\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">Health and Well-Being</a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/lifestyle/\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">Lifestyle</a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/national/\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">National</a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/opinion/\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">Opinion</a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/politics/\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">Politics</a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/science-and-technology/\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">Science and Technology</a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/sport/\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">Sport</a></li><li><a href=\"https://thecivilian.co.nz/category/world/\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">World</a></li></ul>\n<h3 id=\"follow-us\">Follow Us</h3>\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://facebook.com/TheCivilianNZ\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">Facebook</a></li><li><a href=\"https://twitter.com/TheCivilianNZ\" rel=\"nofollow ugc noopener\">X</a></li></ul>\n<h2 id=\"discover-more-from\">Discover more from</h2>\n<p>Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.</p>\n<p>Type your email… </p>\n<p>Subscribe </p>\n<p>Continue reading</p>\n<p>%d</p>","headings":[{"level":2,"text":"AI companies in fierce arms race to demonstrate their model is the most existentially threatening to humanity","id":"ai-companies-in-fierce-arms-race-to-demonstrate-their-model-is-t"},{"level":3,"text":"Share this:","id":"share-this"},{"level":3,"text":"Like this:","id":"like-this"},{"level":3,"text":"Quote of the week","id":"quote-of-the-week"},{"level":3,"text":"About","id":"about"},{"level":3,"text":"Topics","id":"topics"},{"level":3,"text":"Follow Us","id":"follow-us"},{"level":2,"text":"Discover more from","id":"discover-more-from"}]}}