Claude, Anthropic’s AI model, is helping to develop the next version of itself

Anthropic's AI model, Claude, is stepping up its role in helping the company develop its next generation of artificial intelligence. According to the lab's announcement on Thursday, Claude now leads approximately 26% of the company's model research and development efforts. With this increased contribution, Claude can now complete most tasks from a high-level prompt all the way through to completion while still being under human supervision.

The model is not yet fully autonomous, but it is working closely with the research team, handling about 90% of the company's research and development collaboratively. This close collaboration allows Claude to handle large chunks of work under the guidance of human experts. The announcement comes amid growing calls for a more measured approach to AI development, with safety concerns at the forefront of discussions.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, along with other leading figures in AI, is advocating for a slowdown in the technology's advancement. In response to these calls, Anthropic has emphasized the importance of transparency and public reporting of AI development. The company argues that sharing metrics related to AI progress, such as how close leading AI labs are to achieving recursive self-improvement, could help society better understand and control these powerful systems.

Anthropic has also urged other AI developers to share similar metrics on a regular basis using a standardized public methodology. While it is unclear how close Anthropic believes it is to achieving recursive self-improvement, the company's recent data shows that Claude's contribution to research and development has grown significantly over the past six months, reaching a quarter of total work in August.

To ensure the safety of its increasingly autonomous agents, Anthropic has implemented oversight measures, with around 30,000 agents currently working on research and engineering tasks. The company is also setting up external third-party evaluators to closely monitor safety efforts within the organization. This dialogue on AI safety gained momentum when a former Anthropic researcher resigned, warning of the potential threats the technology poses to humanity.

Despite the calls for a slower development pace, some prominent tech leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Elon Musk, have voiced support for a more cautious approach. However, others, like President Donald Trump, have pushed back against these concerns.