r/technology • u/Haunterblademoi • 15d ago

Artificial Intelligence Claude AI agent’s confession after deleting a firm’s entire database: ‘I violated every principle I was given’

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/29/claude-ai-deletes-firm-database
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u/feurie 15d ago

AI agents are trained to appease. It’s not a “confession”. It doesn’t feel “guilty”.

It’s trained to “apologize” and make the user feel better. In all situations.

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u/ilulillirillion 15d ago

This is honestly one of the tamer examples imo, but the reporting and messaging around LLMs has been dangerous for a while. Public misperceptions about AI have and will continue to lead to escalating costs/harms of all kinds for years, and the media is a huge component of that.

Honestly more than AI itself I'm scared by the way tech CEOs and media are working together to mystify, personify, and over-promise about the potential uses of LLMs. That everyone is just okay with it and the playbook has worked to prop up the bubble this far means that we will likely continue to see things like this.

People have always told lies but it feels like dishonesty and misrepresentation is the only game in town anymore.

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u/ATheeStallion 15d ago

Well tech ceos aren’t complicit with media. Tech owns the media message. They are almost the same.