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Anthropic (company)

Anthropic is an American artificial intelligence (AI) startup company that focuses on developing general AI systems and large language models with a strong emphasis on safety and ethical considerations. Founded in 2021 by former members of OpenAI, including Dario, Daniela Amodei, and Jack Clark. Anthropic has prioritized AI governance and safety from its inception, taking a conservative approach compared to other tech teams, focusing on creating AI that is "reliable, interpretable, and steerable."[1][2][3].

The company is recognized for its flagship product, Claude, a sophisticated chatbot designed to be conversational, fast, and capable. Claude is part of Anthropic’s broader mission to build AI systems that prioritize safety, making it a notable competitor to other large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT[1][3]. Anthropic’s approach to AI development is grounded in the principles of AI safety and research, with the company identifying itself as a public-benefit corporation. This classification underscores its commitment to having a positive impact on society through its work in AI[2][3].

Anthropic operates as a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), blending profit motives with a social purpose without being restricted by shareholder limitations. This structure allows Anthropic to pursue its mission with a focus on public benefits.

Anthropic has garnered significant attention and investment from major tech companies, including Google and Amazon, reflecting the industry’s interest in its mission and technologies. As of 2023, Anthropic had raised substantial funding, with investments totaling over $1.5 billion, highlighting the company’s rapid growth and the tech community’s support for its vision of safer AI[2].

One of the innovative methodologies introduced by Anthropic is “constitutional AI,” which involves giving a large language model explicit values determined by a set of principles or a “constitution.” This approach aims to make AI systems safer by ensuring their outputs align with predetermined ethical guidelines, rather than relying solely on large-scale human feedback. For its Claude AI assistant, Anthropic developed a constitution drawing from sources like the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights and trust and safety best practices[4].

Anthropic’s work represents a significant contribution to the AI field, particularly in the areas of AI safety and ethical AI development. By focusing on creating AI systems that are not only technologically advanced but also aligned with human values, Anthropic is at the forefront of efforts to ensure that AI technologies benefit humanity as a whole[1][2][3][4].