AI Labs: Are Anthropic really the good guys?

AI Labs: Are Anthropic really the good guys?

From FT Tech Tonic by Financial Times

May 6, 2026 · 27 min · Season 23 · Episode 1

About this episode

The episode discusses Anthropic's approach to AI safety and its competition with OpenAI.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei wants his AI lab to be a more safety conscious alternative to OpenAI. But Anthropic’s business selling AI to enterprises is booming, and it’s rolling out increasingly powerful models - the latest is claimed to be so dangerous it can’t be released to the public. So can Anthropic win the battle of the AI labs and still claim to be the good guys of AI? Murad Ahmed speaks to Cristina Criddle, FT reporter in San Francisco covering AI, and John Thornhill, the FT’s innovation editor. FT articles free to read:  Anthropic’s Mythos AI model tests limits of global cyber defences Anthropic chief Dario Amodei: ‘I don’t want AI turned on our own people’ Anthropic’s breakout moment: how Claude won business and shook markets Tech Tonic is hosted by Murad Ahmed and produced by Edwin Lane. Sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Tell us what you think of Tech Tonic! Complete this short survey and you’ll get the chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort wireless headphones. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Prize Draw winners’ surnames and regions may be made available upon request, as required by the…

People in this episode

Host: Murad Ahmed

Guests: Cristina Criddle, John Thornhill

Topics covered

  • AI safety
  • Anthropic
  • OpenAI
  • AI models
  • business ethics
  • technology

Keywords

  • Anthropic
  • AI safety
  • Dario Amodei
  • OpenAI
  • AI models
  • business ethics
  • technology

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Anthropic, Financial Times

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