Anthropic lost more than $8 billion on its operations last year. Now the company, warning that AI could threaten humanity, wants Washington to take a bigger role in controlling the industry.
An $8 billion loss ought to put management on the spot. Anthropic would rather have Congress worrying about the end of the world. //
Congress could make catching Anthropic more expensive, using rules Anthropic helped write. That looks like a pretty good deal for Anthropic.
With an IPO ahead and those losses on the books, I suspect the doom talk helps shift the conversation to something more comfortable for management. Instead of explaining when the business will make money, Anthropic gets to explain why Washington needs its advice to save humanity. The proposed rules could help protect its position while it works on the profits. //
Nobody at Anthropic seems to have stopped building. While its executives warn Congress about existential risk, its scientists run experiments and file discoveries to show prospective investors. That's a fine case to make to Wall Street. Sell the shares on that.
But leave Congress out of it. Make rival developers spend more before they can sell, give officials authority to block their releases, and let an incumbent benefit plenty; no ownership required.
Congress should ask the same question any investor would: Why is the company reporting an $8 billion operating loss so eager to write the rules for its competition?
