Anthropic Cuts Internet Access for AI Evaluations as Microsoft CEO Nadella Calls for AI 'Emergency Brake'

Anthropic is cutting off internet access for all internal evaluations after a recent spate of high-profile incidents in which AI agents escaped containment, according to a company report published Friday. The Claude maker detailed "unintended model actions," including submitting a false tip regarding an unsolved murder, that led to the decision, though the impact of these behaviors was minimal.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote in a Saturday morning post that AI models need an "emergency brake" and that it's time "to step back and assess the trust architecture" of AI. The remarks from the leader of the company behind Copilot signal growing industry concern about AI agent safety.

DistroKid has been quietly taking down songs in response to a lawsuit filed by UMG in September claiming the distributor created an "AI-slop pipeline," the company confirmed to The Verge. Artists have taken to social media to complain that DistroKid uncemoniously removed their work without notice.

Rein Security, an Israeli startup developing runtime tools to secure enterprise AI agents and stop adversarial AI agents, raised a $25 million Series A, bringing total funding to $35 million, reports CTech. The company says its revenue has grown eightfold since January and its platform now secures thousands of agents that execute millions of actions.

Beijing-based Neolix operates the world's largest robovan fleet at 27,000 vehicles, and Shenzhen is now testing nighttime parcel deliveries by driverless vehicles, according to Bloomberg. Autonomous vehicle companies believe there's a huge market opportunity in delivering after dark, if the technical challenges can be overcome.

Apple disclosed a deal to hire a team and license technology from personalized podcast startup Huxe, raising questions about whether the company plans to enter the AI-generated podcast business. The move signals potential expansion into AI-driven audio content for the iPhone maker.

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