Claude AI - New 'Ethical' Chatbot Developed by Ex-OpenAI Researchers

 

Claude AI - New 'Ethical' Chatbot Developed by Ex-OpenAI Researchers

The rapid development and proliferation of generative AI chatbots have been a defining technological trend of recent years. While the initial peak of the AI chatbot boom may have passed, the landscape is now more competitive and diverse than ever, with multiple players offering innovative solutions.

The Pioneer: OpenAI’s ChatGPT

OpenAI's ChatGPT was a trailblazer in the world of generative AI chatbots. It captured global attention with its ability to engage in human-like conversations, tell jokes, and explain complex scientific concepts—all from simple text prompts. This groundbreaking innovation sparked an intense AI arms race, prompting major tech companies and new startups alike to develop their own AI products.

The Emergence of Competitors

Among the notable entrants into the generative chatbot space are tech giants Google and Microsoft. These companies have made significant strides in AI development over the past few years, expanding the field's capabilities and applications.

Anthropic and Claude AI

One of ChatGPT’s significant competitors is Claude AI, launched in 2023 by the California-based startup Anthropic. This company was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI executives, Daniella and Dario Amodei. Dario, a former Vice President of Research at OpenAI, left the company in 2019 with several colleagues due to differing business directions, including partnerships with Microsoft.

Anthropic has quickly risen in the AI industry, securing $700 million in funding within a few years. By the end of 2023, Amazon became a minority stakeholder with an investment of up to $4 billion, followed by Google’s $400 million investment. Currently, the company employs over 150 people and has developed a family of large language models (LLMs) named Claude.

Claude AI Adheres to Ethical Standards

Anthropic’s unique selling proposition (USP) is its "Constitutional AI" approach. This methodology aims to train LLMs to adhere to ethical standards, drawing from principles like the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This training ensures that the chatbot behaves safely, accurately, and securely.

The first iteration of Claude was launched in March 2023, followed by Claude 2 in July 2023. Claude 2 distinguished itself by offering capabilities to upload and analyze PDFs and other documents. In March 2024, Anthropic introduced Claude 3, which set new industry benchmarks in cognitive tasks with its models named Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus, each varying in capabilities and sophistication.

The Features and Capabilities of Claude AI

At its core, Claude AI serves as Anthropic’s answer to ChatGPT. Like ChatGPT 3.5, it has a dataset cut-off point in 2022 and lacks internet connectivity, which limits its accuracy regarding post-2022 events. Despite this, Claude AI excels in natural, human-like text conversations, summarization, Q&A, decision-making, and code writing.

Claude AI stands out for its conversational fluency and factual accuracy. It can handle extensive text inputs with a context window of 200,000 tokens, equating to about 150,000 words or 500 pages. This capability minimizes the risk of hallucinations (incorrect responses) and enables efficient analysis and summarization of large documents.

Getting Started with Claude AI

Using Claude AI is straightforward. Users can sign up on claude.ai with an email address, provide their name, and acknowledge Anthropic’s Acceptable Use Policy. Once registered, users access Claude 3 Sonnet, which can process images, text, and documents. For optimal results, users should ask clear, specific questions and provide contextual details.

Practical Tips for Using Claude AI

To harness Claude AI’s full potential, users should practice engaging with the chatbot through various tasks, such as uploading documents and having general conversations. This experimentation helps users understand Claude’s capabilities and limitations, making it easier to integrate the AI into everyday tasks.

Claude AI’s Accessibility and Pricing

Claude AI offers a free tier with limited functionality, allowing around 30 messages per day. For expanded access, Anthropic provides a subscription plan at $20 per month (billed annually). The Claude Pro plan offers enhanced features, including customizable personas, integration with third-party apps like Slack, increased messaging capacity, and early access to new features.

Conclusion

The development of generative AI chatbots like Claude AI represents a significant technological advancement. With its ethical training, expansive capabilities, and user-friendly interface, Claude AI exemplifies the potential of AI to enhance both personal and professional tasks, ensuring the generative AI revolution continues to evolve and benefit users worldwide.

Source:  ReadWrite - AI: What is Claude AI and is it free to use?

Image:  Anthropic