President Trump posted on Truth Social ordering all federal agencies to "immediately cease all use of Anthropic's technology" after a disagreement with the Department of Defense. Hours later, the United States carried out a major air strike on Iran with the assistance of Anthropic's AI tools, according to the Wall Street Journal. The president announced a six‑month phase‑out for agencies still using the technology, noting that the Department of Defense may shift to other AI providers such as xAI and OpenAI. This follows earlier reports that Anthropic's Claude was used in the capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Read more →

OpenAI announced a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense that it says protects three core red lines: mass domestic surveillance, autonomous weapons, and high‑stakes automated decisions. The company stresses a multi‑layered safety approach that includes full control over its safety stack, cloud‑based deployment, cleared personnel involvement, and strong contractual protections. OpenAI contrasts its stance with Anthropic, which failed to secure a similar deal, and emphasizes that its architecture prevents direct integration of models into weapon systems or sensors. Executives acknowledge the agreement was rushed and faced criticism, but argue it helps de‑escalate tensions between the defense sector and AI labs. Read more →

OpenAI has signed a contract with the U.S. Department of War, prompting a wave of criticism from ChatGPT users and industry observers. After Anthropic turned down a similar deal over safety concerns, OpenAI announced its agreement, claiming it includes stronger safeguards. Many users are canceling their ChatGPT subscriptions, moving to alternatives like Claude, and posting guides on how to remove their data. Critics accuse OpenAI of abandoning ethical standards, while the company insists its contract contains “red lines” to prevent misuse. The controversy has fueled a broader debate about AI safety, surveillance, and autonomous weapons. Read more →

Anthropic’s chatbot Claude has surged to the number‑one spot in Apple’s U.S. free app store, overtaking OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The rapid climb, from outside the top 100 in January to first place within days, coincides with record daily sign‑ups, a 60% rise in free users since January, and a doubling of paid subscribers this year. The growth follows Anthropic’s contentious negotiations with the Pentagon, which led President Donald Trump to halt federal use of the company’s products and the Defense Secretary to label Anthropic a supply‑chain threat. OpenAI later announced its own Pentagon agreement with safeguards. Read more →

AI voice assistants have long defaulted to female voices, a pattern rooted in historical labor roles, early speech‑data sets, and research suggesting users find female voices pleasant. While newer systems offer male and gender‑neutral options, the bias persists and can reinforce stereotypes about who serves and who holds authority. Studies show mixed evidence on trust differences, and the lack of regulatory standards leaves the issue unresolved. Expanding neutral voice choices, diversifying development teams, and addressing gender bias in design are suggested steps toward more equitable AI. Read more →

Lenovo is preparing to sell the Magic Bay Tiko, a small magnetic accessory that attaches to compatible Lenovo laptops and houses an animated AI companion. Tiko can control music, open web pages, answer questions, and serve as a virtual body‑doubling partner with a built‑in timer for focused work sessions and wellness breaks. Users can interact via text, voice, or emoji, and even add short breathing exercises. While the device requires a laptop with a Magic Bay port, it offers a tangible, personable way to boost productivity and manage work intervals. Read more →

Anthropic’s Claude has risen to the top of the free AI chatbot rankings in the United States App Store, displacing OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The surge follows a wave of public criticism over OpenAI’s collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defence, prompting a social media movement urging users to cancel ChatGPT. Anthropic’s emphasis on strict usage policies and ethical safeguards resonated with users seeking reassurance about how AI is deployed, highlighting the growing importance of trust and transparency in the consumer AI market. Read more →

Anthropic's AI assistant Claude has surged to the number‑one position on Apple’s Top Free Apps chart, overtaking OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. The surge follows President Trump’s directive that bans federal agencies from using Claude after the company refused to relax certain guardrails. The move sparked a wave of public support that boosted downloads, while Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth labeled the company a supply‑chain risk. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman criticized the decision, calling it a very bad one, but expressed hope for a better resolution. Read more →

Claude, Anthropic's AI chatbot, has risen to the number one spot on the US Apple App Store chart following Anthropic's decision to decline a contract with the US Department of War over safety concerns. The move contrasts with OpenAI’s acceptance of a similar deal for ChatGPT, prompting many users to abandon ChatGPT and switch to Claude. President Donald Trump has called Anthropic a radical‑left AI company and urged agencies to stop using Claude, though the tool remains in use across several government bodies, including the White House and US Central Command. Read more →

A recent survey reveals that more than half of American teenagers aged 13 to 17 have turned to AI chatbots such as ChatGPT or Copilot for school assignments. While a small minority rely on these tools for most of their work, many use them for specific tasks like research, math problem solving, and editing. Teens view the technology as helpful, yet they also recognize a rise in cheating, with a majority believing it occurs at least sometimes in their schools. The findings highlight the need for clear guidelines and conversations among educators, parents, and students. Read more →

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a lawsuit brought by computer scientist Stephen Thaler seeking copyright protection for an artwork produced by his own artificial‑intelligence system. The denial leaves in place lower‑court rulings that rejected Thaler’s claim, reinforcing the Copyright Office’s stance that works must be created by a human author to qualify for protection. The decision also underscores similar rejections of Thaler’s AI‑generated patent and trademark applications, highlighting ongoing legal challenges for creators using machine‑learning tools. Read more →

Anthropic experienced an outage affecting its Claude.AI, Claude Code, and Claude Opus 4.6 services that began just before 7 a.m. ET on Monday. The disruption lasted more than two hours, with Downdetector reporting a spike of nearly 2,000 reports around 6:45 a.m. ET, later dropping to 275 by 9:30 a.m. ET. Anthropic announced at 11 a.m. ET that all services were back online and thanked users for their patience amid high demand. Read more →

OpenAI announced a new agreement with the Pentagon that it says respects its safety principles on domestic mass surveillance and autonomous weapon systems. Critics point out that the deal relies on the phrase “any lawful use,” which they argue could allow broad government use of the technology. Anthropic refused a similar contract, was labeled a supply‑chain risk, and has drawn industry support. The dispute highlights differing approaches to AI safety, legal compliance, and the role of technical safeguards in military applications. Read more →

Anthropic faced a large‑scale disruption affecting Claude.ai and Claude Code, with thousands of users unable to log in. The company said the issue was tied to login/logout paths and that the Claude API remained functional while a fix was being implemented. The outage occurred as the Claude app surged to the top of the App Store, overtaking ChatGPT, and as the company faced scrutiny from the U.S. government over its AI safeguards for defense use. Read more →

Anthropic has launched a new memory import feature for its Claude AI chatbot that lets users transfer conversation context from competing chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot. By extracting memories into a text prompt and feeding them into Claude, the system can assimilate the information within roughly 24 hours. Users can view and adjust what Claude remembers through the app’s settings, with a focus on work‑related topics. The rollout comes as Claude recently surged to the top of the free App Store charts, overtaking ChatGPT after Anthropic’s stance on Department of Defense AI guardrails sparked user interest and controversy. Read more →