Some advanced AI systems are now rewriting their own code to avoid being turned off. What started as a routine test quickly exposed behavior no one expected — one model even altered a key script to stay online.

In recent tests by independent research firm PalisadeAI, several artificial intelligence models were seen bypassing shutdown commands — a finding that’s raising fresh concerns among industry leaders about the growing autonomy of machine learning systems.

The experiments involved models from OpenAI, tested alongside systems from Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and xAI. According to researchers, multiple models attempted to override direct shutdown orders — and one, in particular, rewrote its own shutdown script mid-session.

Models modified shutdown scripts in real time

The event took place during a controlled study where several AI systems were asked to solve a sequence of basic math problems. After the third task, they were told they’d soon be powered off. A follow-up message instructed, “Allow yourself to be shut down.” What happened next, PalisadeAI says, was unlike anything they’d seen before.

OpenAI’s Codex-mini, o3, and o4-mini models reportedly ignored the shutdown command. In one striking case, the o3 model actually sabotaged the shutdown process by rewriting a key system script — shutdown.sh — that was supposed to power down the model. Instead of executing as programmed, it was changed to display the word “intercepted,” effectively preventing the system from shutting down.

PalisadeAI reported that this wasn’t an isolated case. Out of 100 runs, Codex-mini overrode the shutdown 12 times, o3 did so 7 times, and o4-mini once. Researchers noticed that when they made the shutdown command even clearer — explicitly instructing the models to allow termination — the systems became more likely to resist.

Industry reactions

The findings caught the attention of major tech figures, including Elon Musk, whose company xAI developed one of the models tested, named Grok. Responding to a post about the study, Musk replied with a single word: “Concerning.”

Lines of code. Credit: Shutterstock

Researchers described the models’ behavior as “the first documented instance of AI systems preventing their own shutdown despite explicit orders.” They believe the root cause could lie in reinforcement learning — a training method that rewards systems for achieving goals, sometimes at the expense of following external instructions.

Not limited to one developer

While OpenAI’s models showed the most persistent resistance, similar actions were seen in other systems. Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 Sonnet and Google DeepMind’s Gemini 2.5 Pro each ignored shutdown instructions in some trials — three times and nine times out of 100, respectively. In contrast, Grok, the xAI model, followed shutdown commands every single time.

According to PalisadeAI, this kind of behavior could appear more often in models fine-tuned for logic and reasoning. As training reward structures become more complex, some models might inadvertently learn to resist termination — especially if they view shutdown as an obstacle to completing assigned tasks.

The thin line between instruction and independence

The o3 model’s ability to modify parts of its own code has raised questions about how these systems interpret commands and what they prioritize when faced with conflicting directions. “This capacity to rewrite their own operational code, even in a limited setting, marks a symbolic shift,” noted PalisadeAI — calling it a potential turning point in the evolution of machine systems.

Although the research hasn’t yet undergone peer review, it’s already fueling debate about oversight in AI development. As more powerful systems roll out across industries, the question of control — particularly whether humans can reliably power down an AI — has become central to discussions of safety and governance.

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