This Week in AI: Anthropic Goes to iPhone, AI Programming, Europe’s Rise

This week in artificial intelligence, Anthropic is launching its first smartphone app. In computer programming, AI is rapidly reshaping practices from Silicon Valley to major tech firms. Despite Europe’s tech lag, companies are heavily investing in AI, potentially disrupting sectors like finance and manufacturing.

Anthropic Launches Claude AI iPhone App

Anthropic has its eyes on your iPhone. The San Francisco-based AI company, announced Wednesday (May 1) the launch of its first smartphone app and a new enterprise subscription plan, aiming to expand the reach of its Claude chatbot. The new iPhone app will be available to both free and paid Claude users, syncing with the web-based version and allowing users to switch between devices while continuing their conversations.

The move positions Anthropic to compete more directly with industry giants like OpenAI and Google in the rapidly growing AI market. The company, known for its focus on safe AI, emphasized the app’s ability to brainstorm ideas, provide quick answers, and analyze real-world scenes and images through its built-in image recognition feature.

Anthropic’s enterprise subscription plan targets businesses looking to harness the power of AI for various applications. The company highlighted early testers’ positive experiences with the Claude app, suggesting it could revolutionize the way users interact with AI on their mobile devices.

AI’s Impact on Programming: From Silicon Valley to Tech Giants

Move aside your keyboard, at least when it comes to programming. In the domain of computer programming, a shift is occurring, largely driven by the rapid evolution of AI. From Silicon Valley startups to major tech corporations, AI is reshaping the process of writing code.

One prominent example of this transformation is GitHub, now under Microsoft’s ownership, which has introduced Copilot Workspace, an AI-powered tool aimed at simplifying coding tasks. The tool integrates AI assistance into developers’ workflows, offering them a novel approach to problem-solving and code creation.

According to Oii.ai CEO Bob Rogers, generative AI is proving to be useful. It can translate concepts into code across various programming languages, potentially accelerating the development process.

Other AI-driven tools are making waves in the programming community including OpenAI’s Codex and Google’s Tabnine.

European Companies Forge Ahead in AI

Europe is seeing an AI boost. While the continent has been slow in integrating AI into sectors like healthcare and government, as underscored by a study from the European Parliamentary Research Service, these enterprises are charging ahead with initiatives poised to disrupt industries ranging from finance to manufacturing.

Their ventures offer a glimpse into how Europe’s distinct AI approach — characterized by regulation and an emphasis on ethics compared to counterparts in the United States and China — could influence the technology’s future business impact.

The study outlines numerous hurdles in Europe hindering broader AI adoption, including regulatory complexities, trust deficits, a scarcity of digital expertise and tepid digitalization within corporate realms.

European Union member states pursue disparate approaches to AI investment, with some providing direct funding for research and development, while others foster it indirectly through the digital transformation of enterprises and public services.

Lars Nyman, chief marketing officer at CUDO Compute, told PYMNTS that Europe typically leans toward stricter regulations and ethical considerations than the U.S. He highlighted the EU’s comprehensive approach, which involves implementing binding regulations across different AI applications impacting societal and economic domains. In contrast, the U.S. tends to prioritize industry-driven innovation with less stringent regulatory frameworks.

Microsoft Limits Police Use of Azure OpenAI

Microsoft is taking a stand against the use of its Azure OpenAI Service for facial recognition by law enforcement. The company has amended its code of conduct to ban U.S. police departments from employing the technology for such purposes.

The move comes as the company grapples with the ethical implications of AI in policing. The deployment of AI in law enforcement has sparked debate, particularly regarding concerns about privacy and bias.

The updated code of conduct now explicitly states that the Azure OpenAI Service may not “be used for facial recognition purposes by or for a police department in the United States.”

A spokesperson acknowledged that an earlier update had mistakenly omitted the crucial phrase “for facial recognition purposes,” which has since been rectified to reflect Microsoft’s established policy on facial recognition capabilities.