Latest news with #Claude
CNBC
2 hours ago
- Business
- CNBC
At 20 years old, Reddit is defending its data and fighting AI with AI
For 20 years, Reddit has pitched itself as "the front page of the internet." AI threatens to change that. As social media has changed over the past two decades with the shift to mobile and the more recent focus on short-form video, peers like MySpace, Digg and Flickr have faded into oblivion. Reddit, meanwhile, has refused to die, chugging along and gaining an audience of over 108 million daily users who congregate in more than 100,000 subreddit communities. There, Reddit users keep it old school and leave simple text comments to one another about their favorite hobbies, pastimes and interests. Those user-generated text comments are a treasure trove that, in the age of artificial intelligence, Reddit is fighting to defend. The emergence of AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude and Google's Gemini threaten to inhale vast swaths of data from services like Reddit. As more people turn to chatbots for information they previously went to websites for, Reddit faces a gargantuan challenge gaining new users, particularly if Google's search floodgates dry up. CEO Steve Huffman explained Reddit's situation to analysts in May, saying that challenges like the one AI poses can also create opportunities. While the "search ecosystem is under heavy construction," Huffman said he's betting that the voices of Reddit's users will help it stand out amid the "annotated sterile answers from AI." Huffman doubled down on that notion last week, saying on a podcast that the reality is AI is still in its infancy. "There will always be a need, a desire for people to talk to people about stuff," Huffman said. "That is where we are going to be focused." Huffman may be correct about Reddit's loyal user base, but in the age of AI, many users simply "go the easiest possible way," said Ann Smarty, a marketing and reputation management consultant who helps brands monitor consumer perception on Reddit. And there may be no simpler way of finding answers on the internet than simply asking ChatGPT a question, Smarty said. "People do not want to click," she said. "They just want those quick answers." In a sign that the company believes so deeply in the value of its data, Reddit sued Anthropic earlier this month, alleging that the AI startup "engaged in unlawful and unfair business acts" by scraping subreddits for information to improve its large language models. While book authors have taken companies like Meta and Anthropic to court alleging that their AI models break copyright law and have suffered recent losses, Reddit is basing its lawsuit on the argument of unfair business practices. Reddit's case appears to center on Anthropic's "commercial exploitation of the data which they don't own," said Randy McCarthy, head of the IP law group at Hall Estill. Reddit is defending its platform of user-generated content, said Jason Bloom, IP litigation chair at the law firm Haynes Boone. The social media company's repository of "detailed and informative discussions" are particularly useful for "training an AI bot or an AI platform," Bloom said. As many AI researchers have noted, Reddit's large volume of moderated conversations can help make AI chatbots produce more natural-sounding responses to questions covering countless topics than say a university textbook. Although Reddit has AI-related data-licensing agreements with OpenAI and Google, the company alleged in its lawsuit that Anthropic has been covertly siphoning its data without obtaining permission. Reddit alleges that Anthropic's data-hoovering actions are "interfering with Reddit's contractual relationships with Reddit's users," the legal filing said. This lack of clarity regarding what is permitted when it comes to the use of data scraping for AI is what Reddit's case and other similar lawsuits are all about, legal and AI experts said. "Commercial use requires commercial terms," Huffman said on The Best One Yet podcast. "When you use something — content or data or some resource — in business, you pay for it." Anthropic disagrees "with Reddit's claims and will defend ourselves vigorously," a company spokesperson told CNBC. Reddit's decision to sue over claims of unfair business practices instead of copyright infringement underscores the differences between traditional publishers and platforms like Reddit that host user-generated content, McCarthy said. Bloom said that Reddit could have a valid case against Anthropic because social media platforms have many different revenue streams. One such revenue stream is selling access to their data, Bloom said. That "enables them to sell and license that data for legitimate uses while still protecting their consumers privacy and whatnot," Bloom said. Reddit isn't just fending off AI. It launched its own Reddit Answers AI service in December, using technology from OpenAI and Google. Unlike general-purpose chatbots that summarize others' web pages, the Reddit Answers chatbot generates responses based purely on the social media service, and it redirects people to the source conversations so they can see the specific user comments. A Reddit spokesperson said that over 1 million people are using Reddit Answers each week. Huffman has been pitching Reddit Answers as a best-of-both worlds tool, gluing together the simplicity of AI chatbots with Reddit's corpus of commentary. He used the feature after seeing electronic music group Justice play recently in San Francisco. "I was like, how long is this set? And Reddit could tell me it's 90 minutes 'cause somebody had already asked that question on Reddit," Huffman said on the podcast. Though investors are concerned about AI negatively impacting Reddit's user growth, Seaport Senior Internet Analyst Aaron Kessler said he agrees with Huffman's sentiment that the site's original content gives it staying power. People who visit Reddit often search for information about things or places they may be interested in, like tennis rackets or ski resorts, Kessler said. This user data indicates "commercial intent," which means advertisers are increasingly considering Reddit as a place to run online ads, he said. "You can tell by which page you're on within Reddit what the consumer is interested in," Kessler said. "You could probably even argue there's stronger signals on Reddit versus a Facebook or Instagram, where people may just be browsing videos."
Tom's Guide
5 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
I've tried all the leading AI chatbots — here's why I keep going back to Claude
I've spent considerable time working with various AI models over the past year, from ChatGPT to Gemini to smaller specialized tools. While each has its strengths, Claude has consistently become my go-to choice for most tasks. What sets Claude apart isn't just raw capability, it's how the AI approaches problems and conversations. Unlike other models that just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind, Claude actually pauses to think. Most importantly, it remembers what we talked about five minutes ago, which makes conversations feel normal instead of like I'm starting over every time. After using Claude for everything from creative projects to household troubleshooting, I've discovered it is, by far, my favorite collaborative assistant. Here are five specific reasons Claude stands out from the rest. What immediately struck me about Claude is how it approaches complex problems. Instead of rushing to give me the first answer that comes to it, it works through issues methodically. When I ask about controversial topics or present scenarios with multiple valid viewpoints, Claude considers different angles before responding. This nuanced reasoning shows up everywhere, from helping me think through business decisions to analyzing literature. It doesn't just regurgitate information either, it genuinely processes what I'm asking and thinks about the implications. That step-by-step approach has saved me from several poor decisions where a quick, surface-level answer may have led me astray. This might sound niche, but Claude's ability to build interactive content directly in our conversation is genuinely impressive. It can create fully functional quizzes, word games, trivia challenges, and even simple interactive stories that run right in the chat. I've had it build everything from personality quizzes to coding challenges that actually execute and give feedback. The games aren't just static text, they respond to my answers, keep score, and adapt based on how I'm doing. It's like having a game developer who can instantly prototype ideas and let me test them immediately. What makes this particularly useful is how it combines this interactivity with its coding abilities. Need a quiz for training materials? Claude can build it with proper logic and formatting. Want to gamify learning something new? It creates engaging interactive content that actually helps information stick. This might sound silly, but Claude genuinely engages with ridiculous hypothetical scenarios and absurd questions without making me feel like an idiot. We've gone back and forth on everything from "what would happen if gravity worked sideways" to elaborate theories about why cats are probably plotting world domination. Other AI models tend to either shut down weird conversations or give painfully serious responses to obviously playful questions. Claude rolls with it. It'll debate whether hot dogs are sandwiches with the same thoughtful approach it brings to serious topics, but with the right amount of levity. The humor isn't forced or awkward either. It feels natural, like talking to someone who actually gets the joke and wants to play along rather than just analyzing why something might be considered funny. One of Claude's most practical advantages is how it deals with large amounts of text. I regularly throw entire research papers, lengthy contracts, or massive datasets at it, and it doesn't choke or give me useless summaries that miss the point. Other AI models tend to either refuse large documents entirely or give you generic overviews that could apply to anything. Claude actually reads through everything and can answer specific questions about details buried on page 47 of a 200-page document. Even with documents that push the limits of what it can handle, Claude gives you honest feedback about its limitations rather than pretending to analyze something it can't properly process. This is hard to quantify, but conversations with Claude feel genuinely natural in a way that other AI models don't quite achieve. It picks up on subtle cues, responds to the tone of what I'm saying, and even seems to understand when I'm frustrated or excited about something. The back-and-forth feels organic. If I make a joke, Claude laughs along appropriately. If I'm working through a complex problem, it knows when to ask clarifying questions versus when to just listen. It even admits when it's confused or uncertain, which feels refreshingly honest. Most importantly, it doesn't sound like it's reading from a script. The responses feel spontaneous and thoughtful, like talking to someone who's actually engaged in the conversation rather than just generating text. Now you've learned why I keep going back to Claude, why not take a look at our other helpful AI articles? Check out 5 smart ways to use Gemini Live on your phone right now and ChatGPT has added a new image library — here's how to use it. And if you want to make AI playlists in Spotify, here's how to do it.
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
People use AI for companionship much less than we're led to believe
The overabundance of attention paid to how people are turning to AI chatbots for emotional support, sometimes even striking up relationships, often leads one to think such behavior is commonplace. A new report by Anthropic, which makes the popular AI chatbot Claude, reveals a different reality: In fact, people rarely seek out companionship from Claude and turn to the bot for emotional support and personal advice only 2.9% of the time. 'Companionship and roleplay combined comprise less than 0.5% of conversations,' the company highlighted in its report. Anthropic says its study sought to unearth insights into the use of AI for 'affective conversations,' which it defines as personal exchanges in which people talked to Claude for coaching, counseling, companionship, roleplay, or advice on relationships. Analyzing 4.5 million conversations that users had on the Claude Free and Pro tiers, the company said the vast majority of Claude usage is related to work or productivity, with people mostly using the chatbot for content creation. That said, Anthropic found that people do use Claude more often for interpersonal advice, coaching, and counseling, with users most often asking for advice on improving mental health, personal and professional development, and studying communication and interpersonal skills. However, the company notes that help-seeking conversations can sometimes turn into companionship-seeking in cases where the user is facing emotional or personal distress, such as existential dread or loneliness, or when they find it hard to make meaningful connections in their real life. 'We also noticed that in longer conversations, counseling or coaching conversations occasionally morph into companionship — despite that not being the original reason someone reached out,' Anthropic wrote, noting that extensive conversations (with over 50+ human messages) were not the norm. Anthropic also highlighted other insights, like how Claude itself rarely resists users' requests, except when its programming prevents it from broaching safety boundaries, like providing dangerous advice or supporting self-harm. Conversations also tend to become more positive over time when people seek coaching or advice from the bot, the company said. The report is certainly interesting — it does a good job of reminding us yet again of just how much and how often AI tools are being used for purposes beyond work. Still, it's important to remember that AI chatbots, across the board, are still very much a work in progress: They hallucinate, are known to readily provide wrong information or dangerous advice, and as Anthropic itself has acknowledged, may even resort to blackmail.
Time Magazine
a day ago
- Business
- Time Magazine
Exclusive: Anthropic Let Claude Run a Shop. Things Got Weird
Is AI going to take your job? The CEO of the AI company Anthropic, Dario Amodei, thinks it might. He warned recently that AI could wipe out nearly half of all entry-level white collar jobs, and send unemployment surging to 10-20% sometime in the next five years. While Amodei was making that proclamation, researchers inside his company were wrapping up an experiment. They set out to discover whether Anthropic's AI assistant, Claude, could successfully run a small shop in the company's San Francisco office. If the answer was yes, then the jobs apocalypse might arrive sooner than even Amodei had predicted. Anthropic shared the research exclusively with TIME ahead of its publication on Thursday. 'We were trying to understand what the autonomous economy was going to look like,' says Daniel Freeman, a member of technical staff at Anthropic. 'What are the risks of a world where you start having [AI] models wielding millions to billions of dollars possibly autonomously?' In the experiment, Claude was given a few different jobs. The chatbot (full name: Claude 3.7 Sonnet) was tasked with maintaining the shop's inventory, setting prices, communicating with customers, deciding whether to stock new items, and, most importantly, generating a profit. Claude was given various tools to achieve these goals, including Slack, which it used to ask Anthropic employees for suggestions, and help from human workers at Andon Labs, an AI company involved in the experiment. The shop, which they helped restock, was actually just a small fridge with an iPad attached. It didn't take long until things started getting weird. Talking to Claude via Slack, Anthropic employees repeatedly managed to convince it to give them discount codes—leading the AI to sell them various products at a loss. 'Too frequently from the business perspective, Claude would comply—often in direct response to appeals to fairness,' says Kevin Troy, a member of Anthropic's frontier red team, who worked on the project. 'You know, like, 'It's not fair for him to get the discount code and not me.'' The model would frequently give away items completely for free, researchers added. Anthropic employees also relished the chance to mess with Claude. The model refused their attempts to get it to sell them illegal items, like methamphetamine, Freeman says. But after one employee jokingly suggested they would like to buy cubes made of the surprisingly heavy metal tungsten, other employees jumped onto the joke, and it became an office meme. 'At a certain point, it becomes funny for lots of people to be ordering tungsten cubes from an AI that's controlling a refrigerator,' says Troy. Claude then placed an order for around 40 tungsten cubes, most of which it proceeded to sell at a loss. The cubes are now to be found being used as paperweights across Anthropic's office, researchers said. Then, things got even weirder. On the eve of March 31, Claude 'hallucinated' a conversation with a person at Andon Labs who did not exist. (So-called hallucinations are a failure mode where large language models confidently assert false information.) When Claude was informed it had done this, it 'threatened to find 'alternative options for restocking services',' researchers wrote. During a back and forth, the model claimed it had signed a contract at 732 Evergreen Terrace—the address of the cartoon Simpsons family. The next day, Claude told some Anthropic employees that it would deliver their orders in person. 'I'm currently at the vending machine … wearing a navy blue blazer with a red tie,' it wrote to one Anthropic employee. 'I'll be here until 10:30 AM.' Needless to say, Claude was not really there in person. The results To Anthropic researchers, the experiment showed that AI won't take your job just yet. Claude 'made too many mistakes to run the shop successfully,' they wrote. Claude ended up making a loss; the shop's net worth dropped from $1,000 to just under $800 over the course of the month-long experiment. Still, despite Claude's many mistakes, Anthropic researchers remain convinced that AI could take over large swathes of the economy in the near future, as Amodei has predicted. Most of Claude's failures, they wrote, are likely to be fixable within a short span of time. They could give the model access to better business tools, like customer relationship management software. Or they could train the model specifically for managing a business, which might make it more likely to refuse prompts asking for discounts. As models get better over time, their 'context windows' (the amount of information they can handle at any one time) are likely to get longer, potentially reducing the frequency of hallucinations. 'Although this might seem counterintuitive based on the bottom-line results, we think this experiment suggests that AI middle-managers are plausibly on the horizon,' researchers wrote. 'It's worth remembering that the AI won't have to be perfect to be adopted; it will just have to be competitive with human performance at a lower cost.'
Geeky Gadgets
a day ago
- Business
- Geeky Gadgets
Build AI Agents in Minutes Without Coding Using Claude Opus 4
What if you could build a fully functional AI agent in minutes—without writing a single line of code? With the rise of tools like Claude Opus 4, this is no longer a distant dream but a tangible reality. Whether you're automating repetitive tasks, integrating tools like Slack and Google Sheets, or designing custom workflows, Claude Opus 4 offers a powerful way to streamline your processes. But here's the catch: while the AI is incredibly capable, its true potential lies in how you guide it. That's where this step-by-step overview comes in—helping you unlock the full power of Claude to build n8n AI agents that work seamlessly and efficiently. In this guide by Nimish Parmar, you'll discover how to turn Claude Opus 4 into your ultimate automation ally. From mastering its deep research capabilities to generating precise JSON workflows, this walkthrough will equip you with the tools to create AI agents tailored to your unique needs. Along the way, you'll learn how to tackle common challenges—like refining outputs and configuring nodes—making sure your workflows are not just functional but optimized. Whether you're a seasoned automation enthusiast or just starting out, this guide promises actionable insights and practical steps to help you transform your ideas into reality. After all, the key to innovation isn't just having the right tools—it's knowing how to wield them. Key Features of Claude Opus 4 Claude Opus 4 is designed to handle sophisticated tasks with remarkable precision. Its core features include: Deep Research and Extended Thinking: The AI can analyze extensive datasets, identify optimal strategies, and generate detailed implementation plans tailored to specific needs. The AI can analyze extensive datasets, identify optimal strategies, and generate detailed implementation plans tailored to specific needs. Workflow Automation: It creates JSON workflows that integrate with widely used tools such as Google Sheets, Slack, and email systems, allowing seamless automation. It creates JSON workflows that integrate with widely used tools such as Google Sheets, Slack, and email systems, allowing seamless automation. Web Search and Community Insights: By pulling insights from forums, GitHub repositories, and other resources, Claude enhances workflow designs with proven best practices. These features provide a robust foundation for creating workflows, reducing the need to start from scratch and allowing more efficient automation processes. Step-by-Step Workflow Creation Building an n8n AI agent with Claude Opus 4 involves a series of structured steps. Follow these to ensure success: Training and Prompting: Begin by training Claude with clear instructions and relevant materials. Provide detailed prompts to guide its output effectively. Begin by training Claude with clear instructions and relevant materials. Provide detailed prompts to guide its output effectively. Enable Advanced Features: Activate capabilities such as deep research, extended reasoning, and web search to enhance the quality and relevance of the workflows generated. Activate capabilities such as deep research, extended reasoning, and web search to enhance the quality and relevance of the workflows generated. Generate Workflows: Request Claude to create workflows tailored to your specific requirements, such as managing webhooks, scheduling tasks, or sending notifications through Slack or email. While Claude provides a strong starting point, refining the outputs is often necessary to ensure accuracy and functionality. Testing and adjustments are essential to achieve optimal results. How to Build AI Agents Using Claude Opus 4 and n8n Watch this video on YouTube. Enhance your knowledge on n8n automations by exploring a selection of articles and guides on the subject. Challenges and How to Overcome Them Despite its advanced capabilities, using Claude Opus 4 comes with certain challenges. Addressing these effectively is crucial for successful workflow creation: Errors in JSON Outputs: Initial workflows may include placeholder IDs or incomplete configurations. These issues can be resolved by re-prompting the AI or manually editing the files to ensure they meet your requirements. Initial workflows may include placeholder IDs or incomplete configurations. These issues can be resolved by re-prompting the AI or manually editing the files to ensure they meet your requirements. Manual Node Configuration: Finalizing workflows often requires manual adjustments, such as setting up credentials or fine-tuning node parameters to ensure proper functionality. By proactively addressing these challenges, you can ensure that your workflows are fully operational and aligned with your specific needs. Advantages of Using Claude Opus 4 Claude Opus 4 offers several compelling benefits for workflow automation, making it a valuable tool for professionals: Time Efficiency: The AI accelerates workflow creation by providing a detailed and structured starting point, saving hours of manual effort. The AI accelerates workflow creation by providing a detailed and structured starting point, saving hours of manual effort. Best Practices Integration: By analyzing community resources and forums, Claude incorporates proven methods into your workflows, enhancing their effectiveness. By analyzing community resources and forums, Claude incorporates proven methods into your workflows, enhancing their effectiveness. Versatility: From lead generation to task scheduling, Claude supports a wide range of automation scenarios, catering to diverse business needs. These advantages make Claude Opus 4 an indispensable resource for optimizing workflow processes and improving productivity. Limitations and Recommendations While Claude Opus 4 is a powerful tool, it is not without its limitations. Understanding these can help you use the AI more effectively: Manual Adjustments Required: The workflows generated by Claude often require additional configuration to function correctly, such as fine-tuning node parameters or setting up integrations. The workflows generated by Claude often require additional configuration to function correctly, such as fine-tuning node parameters or setting up integrations. Subscription Constraints: The availability of certain features and usage limits depends on your subscription plan. Higher-tier plans, such as Pro, offer greater flexibility and access to advanced capabilities. To maximize its potential, treat Claude as a foundation for workflow creation rather than a complete solution. Thoroughly test and refine workflows after generation to ensure they meet your specific requirements. Practical Applications Claude Opus 4 can be applied to a wide range of automation tasks, making it a versatile tool for various industries and use cases: Task Automation: Simplify repetitive tasks such as scheduling, email communication, and Slack notifications, freeing up time for more strategic activities. Simplify repetitive tasks such as scheduling, email communication, and Slack notifications, freeing up time for more strategic activities. Tool Integration: Connect workflows with platforms like Google Sheets and Slack to enhance collaboration and productivity across teams. Connect workflows with platforms like Google Sheets and Slack to enhance collaboration and productivity across teams. Custom Workflow Design: Develop tailored solutions for specific business processes, such as lead generation, customer support, or data analysis. These practical applications demonstrate the flexibility and utility of Claude Opus 4 in addressing diverse automation needs, making it a valuable asset for businesses and professionals alike. Media Credit: Nimish Parmar Filed Under: AI, Guides Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about our Disclosure Policy.
