Anthropic's performance optimization team has been using a take‑home test for job applicants since 2024. As AI coding assistants like Claude have improved, the company has repeatedly redesigned the test to keep human candidates distinguishable. Team lead Tristan Hume noted that each new Claude model, from Opus 4 to Opus 4.5, has forced a redesign because the AI began matching or exceeding top human performers. While candidates are permitted to use AI tools, the situation raises questions about the test's ability to assess human talent. Hume ultimately created a new, hardware‑agnostic test intended to stump current AI tools and invited the community to propose better challenges. Read more →

Microsoft is rolling out Anthropic’s Claude Code to a broad set of its internal engineering groups, encouraging both developers and non‑technical staff to experiment with the AI coding assistant. The move complements the company’s existing reliance on GitHub Copilot, with engineers asked to compare the two tools and provide feedback. By integrating Claude Code into major product divisions such as Windows, Microsoft 365, and Azure‑related services, Microsoft aims to boost productivity, simplify prototyping, and explore the potential of offering the tool to external cloud customers in the future. Read more →

Ryan Salva, the manager for Google’s developer tools, explains how AI-powered solutions like Gemini CLI and Gemini Code Assist are reshaping software development. He highlights findings from Google’s latest developer survey, noting a surge in AI tool adoption around the release of new reasoning models. Salva describes his own workflow, which blends terminal‑based AI commands with traditional IDEs, and emphasizes the shift toward using AI for requirements drafting and code generation. While he sees the IDE’s role diminishing over time, he envisions developers evolving into architects who guide AI rather than write every line of code themselves. Read more →