Twisted Anthropic Value System: Offering High Salaries While Asking if You Would Support Stock Price to Zero

Dynamic Beating AI News Flash: Anthropic recently added a tough values question to its cultural interview. If a company decides to halt its AI advancement for safety reasons, and as a result, the stock becomes worthless, would you still support this decision? This was not a standardized question, but multiple candidates have faced similar "Money vs. Safety" dilemmas.

Surprisingly, some candidates stumbled on this question. One candidate on Blind mentioned honestly responding, "I wouldn't be happy if the stock price dropped to zero," expressing the desire for the company to uphold ethical standards while continuing its business. However, he felt that the interviewer didn't quite appreciate this answer.

The irony lies in Anthropic's own willingness to offer generous compensation packages to attract talent. Job postings often list salaries above $250,000, with some candidates even willing to pay $4,600 for specialized Anthropic interview coaching. The company's official website clearly states its commitment to providing competitive salaries and equity. Meanwhile, CEO Dario Amodei has started to worry if new employees are solely motivated by money.

This situation can be seen as the Anthropic version of "Wanting to see your brother live well but also scared he'll drive a Land Rover." They offer high pay and equity, yet fear that you might take money too seriously; in the event the stock crashes, you'll need to prove that your primary concern is the "mission."

The final value on Anthropic's recruitment page is aptly named "Mission First," stated in plain terms: the mission serves as the company's "final arbiter" in decision-making.