Anthropic Unveils Groundbreaking 'Computer Use' Capability in AI Models, Challenging OpenAI's Dominance

Anthropic Unveils New AI Model with Computer Use Capability

Early adopters like GitLab and Replit report enhanced productivity and task efficiency. Anthropic recently announced a significant upgrade to its Claude 3.5 Sonnet model and introduced a new Claude 3.5 Haiku model, further advancing AI (Artificial Intelligence) functionality and usability. Both developments aim to enhance developer productivity, particularly in coding and automation, according to the company. Also Read: Google Working on AI Project to Automate Web-Based Tasks: Report The updated Claude 3.5 Sonnet model now performs better on complex coding tasks, showing improvements on industry benchmarks, especially in agentic coding and tool-use tasks. According to the company, Early adopters, including GitLab and Cognition, report enhanced reasoning abilities and faster, more reliable DevSecOps support with no added latency. The Browser Company, which uses the model to automate web-based workflows, noted that Claude 3.5 Sonnet outperformed every model they had previously tested. One key update is a new "computer use" capability, currently in public beta, which allows Claude to interact with computer interfaces as a human would -- moving cursors, clicking buttons, and typing text. This feature can automate multi-step processes, such as form-filling and spreadsheet management, marking a significant step toward more advanced workflow automation. "Asana, Canva, Cognition, DoorDash, Replit, and The Browser Company have already begun to explore these possibilities, carrying out tasks that require dozens, and sometimes even hundreds, of steps to complete. For example, Replit is using Claude 3.5 Sonnet's capabilities with computer use and UI navigation to develop a key feature that evaluates apps as they're being built for their Replit Agent product," the company said in a blog post. In addition to Sonnet, Anthropic introduced Claude 3.5 Haiku, which offers the performance of Claude 3 Opus at lower costs and faster speeds, making it ideal for user-facing tasks, sub-agent roles, and data personalization. Initially text-only, Haiku will add image-processing abilities soon. This "computer use" capability marks Claude 3.5 Sonnet as the first frontier AI model to attempt public UI navigation. While experimental, Anthropic said its approach includes safety measures like harm-detection classifiers. Pre-deployment testing of the new model was conducted in collaboration with the US and UK AI Safety Institutes. Also Read: OpenAI Enhances ChatGPT with Integrated Web Search Feature "With computer use, we're trying something fundamentally new. Instead of making specific tools to help Claude complete individual tasks, we're teaching it general computer skills -- allowing it to use a wide range of standard tools and software programs designed for people. Developers can use this nascent capability to automate repetitive processes, build and test software, and conduct open-ended tasks like research," Anthropic said. Both Claude 3.5 Haiku and Claude 3.5 Sonnet are available on Anthropic's API, Amazon Bedrock, and Google Cloud's Vertex AI.

ET Explainer: Is Anthropic faster than OpenAI?

AI experts and researchers have commended Anthropic's speed and ability to demonstrate a futuristic product even as its bigger rival OpenAI has built a war chest of $6.6 billion in the recently concluded fund raise.Imagine your computer making your presentations or filling up your Excel while you are asleep. Looks like this is the future AI companies are building. San Francisco-based AI model company Anthropic, last week, released the capability of "Computer Use" which can take control of your PC and perform tasks like people do, a product which could give OpenAI a run for its money. AI experts and researchers have commended Anthropic's speed and ability to demonstrate a futuristic product even as its bigger rival OpenAI has built a war chest of $6.6 billion in the recently concluded fund raise. What Anthropic has demonstrated is not something new. Microsoft's Copilot Vision feature and OpenAI's desktop app for ChatGPT have demonstrated that AI can execute tasks by seeing your screen. Google has also shown similar capabilities in its Gemini app on Android phones. But this is the first time that such a tool is released in public beta. Using the "Computer Use" API developers can prompt the Claude model to take actions on their behalf. It can look at the screen, move the cursor, click buttons and type text. "We've built an API that allows Claude to perceive and interact with computer interfaces. This API enables Claude to translate prompts into computer commands. Developers can use it to automate repetitive tasks, conduct testing and QA, and perform open-ended research," the company said in a blogpost. Claude can now translate instructions like "use data from my computer and online to fill out this form", "check a spreadsheet", "move the cursor to open a web browser," into computer commands. Researchers predict the feature's use cases in agentic AI such as automated debugging while coding, customer support and education could be revolutionary. For instance, Canva, DoorDash, Replit, have already begun to explore these possibilities. However, it raises data security concerns. The feature works by taking static screenshots that are constantly sent back to the API in real-time. Claude is a closed-source model and therefore users are concerned about sharing confidential data with the company.

Anthropic vs. OpenAI: Who Will Lead the Next AI Wave?

Explore the competition between Anthropic and OpenAI in AI technology and automation with the new computer use API.Two prominent players, Anthropic and OpenAI, are vying for supremacy. Both companies are focused on transforming user interactions with technology through innovative AI solutions. Recently, Anthropic captured attention by launching its computer use API, a groundbreaking feature that allows its AI model, Claude, to control computers and execute tasks autonomously. This development positions Anthropic as a formidable competitor to OpenAI, which has built a substantial foundation with its cutting-edge AI technologies. As the competition heats up, the potential implications for productivity and automation in AI are becoming increasingly significant.