- Claude has hit number one on the US Apple App Store chart
- It is linked to anger over ChatGPT’s deal with the US military
- Claude continues to be used in various US government agencies
AI chatbot Claude seems to be getting a significant number of new users in the wake of developer Anthropic’s decision to walk away from a deal with the US military: the app has now hit number one in Apple’s App Store chart in the US.
As reported by TechCrunch and others, Claude’s popularity boost is linked to Anthropic’s announcement late last week that it had failed to reach an agreement to provide AI services to the US Department of War (DoW) – citing a lack of safeguards around mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons as the biggest stumbling block.
ChatGPT developer OpenAI apparently had fewer qualms about the DoW deal and jumped in to replace Anthropic. According to OpenAI, it was given assurances by US authorities that “security principles” around mass surveillance and autonomous weapons would be respected going forward.
However, ChatGPT’s users are not convinced. ChatGPT Reddit is littered with reports of users abandoning the AI ​​app over the “dark direction” OpenAI is headed in – and it seems Claude is the alternative that many are switching too.
Still in use
Although Anthropic has refused to enter into a new agreement with the DoW, Claude is used extensively across US government departments – something President Donald Trump wants to see changed in light of recent safety and security disputes.
In a social media post (via The Guardian ), Trump called Anthropic “a radical left-wing AI company run by people who have no idea what the real world is about”. He went on to request that all government agencies stop using Claude with immediate effect — though such a quick turnaround does not appear to be possible.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the US military operation we’ve seen in Iran over the past few days has been assisted by Anthropic’s AI. Claude is apparently still used extensively by the White House and its security services, including US Central Command in the Middle East.
A full switch to ChatGPT is going to take months, according to the WSJ. Meanwhile, plenty of ordinary consumers who don’t work for the US government are moving in the opposite direction when it comes to AI tools.
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