 |
|
|
|||||
A race among the top AI companies to sell powerful models to the U.S. Defense Department is hotter than ever. No matter how the feud between Anthropic and the Pentagon ultimately plays out, the Pentagon is now more incentivized to contract with other tech firms. Likewise, whatever misgivings Anthropic had about working with the military have only grown. Indeed, other companies are already taking steps to pick up the government-contracting mantle. Earlier this week, xAI reached an agreement with the Defense Department to operate on classified systems. And OpenAI is working on a Pentagon deal of its own. But winning over the Defense Department officials may not be enough. To actually become a go-to AI provider for the agency, their AI will need to catch up to Anthropics Claude large language model, which is widely liked within the military. And theyll likely need to connect to Palantirs technology. Palantir, along with its partners, holds cloud security clearances that allow it to host highly sensitive military information and data. The company has also built a far more streamlined way of accessing data from across the DoD, and, presumably, data that would make any large language model far more useful to military officials. One former employee of the Defense Departments Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office tells Fast Company that Palantir has effectively taken over the data lake problem inside the Pentagon, consolidating raw and low-level data feeds and making them accessible through its platform. Everything runs through Palantir, the former employee says. Theyre the 1,000 pound gorilla in this space. The dispute centers on the Pentagons demand that it be allowed to use Anthropics Claude model for all lawful purposes, while Anthropic has sought safeguards blocking uses for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. After negotiations stalled this week, the Trump administration has reportedly deemed the company a supply chain risk, which forces military contractors to ditch Anthropic models. On Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that every agency was to immediately stop using all Anthropic products, with a six-month phase-out period. The Pentagon has already reached out to defense contractors to ask about their reliance on Anthropic. Palantir, notably, uses Anthropic models internally, one person tells Fast Company, and would possibly be impacted by the decision by the U.S. government to blacklist the AI firms technology. Still, Anthropic has a real advantage in its integration with Palantir. Since Claude is playing ball with [Palantir], it makes them more appealing than having to get Palantir to agree to share their stuff with OpenAI, the former DoD employee says. Even so, Claudes agile technology remains a powerful draw. One recent government AI official says the LLM is so far ahead of its rivals that current and former government workers, (including those from the Defense Department) are sending memes about the standoff in at least one group chat. Anthropics value to the Defense Department is also owed to the fact that its technology enriches the Maven Smart System, one former Palantir employee tells Fast Company. The Maven systemwhich has a long and controversial historyis an integrated platform that might help, for example, a military command team to access critical data that might be spread across the Defense Department. That data might include information about nearby munitions supply, or the number of soldiers that a military operation might be able to deploy. Making these systems more interoperable makes it a lot easier to plan a military operation, the person said. While Anthropic could certainly try to independently sell its own system to the government, its technology is most useful to the government when integrated with a system like Maven. Palantir, the former Palantir employee added, wouldnt be in a position to prevent OpenAI or Anthropic from connecting to something like Maven, but to be similarly useful as Anthropic those companies would likely want to enrich it, too. From their understanding, it appears that Anthropic was early to gaining accreditation to work in these kinds of military systems, and other companies are still catching up. Neither Palantir nor the Defense Department responded to a request for comment.
Category:
E-Commerce
If you think Paris is always a good idea and the French do everything better, especially leisurethen this one is for you. Unlike Americans, who treat their weekends as a sprint to see who can do the most chores, Sundays are sacred in Francea time to slow down, reset for the week, and do as little as possible. Even protests in France happen every day except Sunday . . . thats how sacred [they] are,” Céline Kaplan, cofounder of upcycled products marketplace OOOF (Out of Office Forever) and a PR agent for French clients in New York, tells The Zoe Report. Looking for more work-life balance? Try treating Sunday as a holiday instead of the first day of a new week, and you may find some surprising resultsa calm start to your workweek instead of an anxiety-producing day of “Sunday Scaries.” So, what is a “French Sunday”? I will admit, I’ve been doing my own version of a “French Sunday” for as long as I can remember. Sleeping in late? Check. Lounging around with coffee and a paper? Check. Brunch? Bien sr. Like most fashionable trends, “French Sunday” comes from France, but was most recently popularized by Vogue. In short, the art of Sunday la française is an antidote to the burnout and anxiety many Americans feel come Monday. For one thing, most shops are closed by noon on Sundays in France, eliminating the need to feel “productive” or cross things off a to-do list. Instead, Dimanche is for connecting with family and friendsnot isolating on digital devices, something Americans commonly do as a way to decompress, but that actually severely affects mental health, increases stress and anxiety, and creates even more loneliness. According to the Vogue article, “French Sundays” are supposed to be “lazy, stress-free days, when the main activity is to do nothing”the exact opposite of productivity hacks that encourage people to use Sundays to prep for next weeks meals, do that load of laundry, clean your space, review your calendar, and lay out your work clothes (making Sundays practically a sixth day of work). How to have your own French Sunday First, French Sundays are a mindset, not just a day. Try embracing your inner Frenchiewhich means starting the day by letting your body decide when you get up, sans alarm clock. Other suggestions on how to make Sundays your own: Prioritize meeting up with friends and family, take a walk, and even allow yourself to indulge in life’s simple pleasures, which, for the French, is food. One Sunday ritual in France is the family lunch, a big meal that goes on far too long, often involving a roast chicken and many, many people. (Social connection, it turns out, is good for your mental health.) Here are a few more suggestions from Vogue: Take an obscenely long nap. Be a flâneur or flâneuse, and stroll aimlessly. Snack. Cook something that takes forever. Find a pretty view to stare at. Indulge in watching two movies back-to-back in an actual theater. And of course, the most French thing of alland something you never see as a productivity hackmake love. Bon weekend!
Category:
E-Commerce
Target will stop selling cereals containing synthetic colors by the end of May. The Minneapolis-based discounter said Friday it had been phasing out synthetic colors in cereals for several years. Right now, 85% of its cereal sales already come from products made without synthetic dyes. Target said it has worked with national brands and its private brands to reformulate products as needed. Some cereals including Trix and Lucky Charms, which are made by General Mills will have updated formulations, Target said. Target said it will no longer carry brands that don’t reformulate, but it didn’t name the brands. General Mills announced last year that it planned to remove artificial dyes from all of its U.S. cereals by the summer of 2026. But WK Kellogg has said it plans to remove artificial dyes from its cereals by the end of 2027. Kellogg makes several cereals with artificial dyes that are now sold at Target, including Froot Loops, Apple Jacks and Squishmallows. Messages seeking comment were left Friday with General Mills and WK Kellogg. Target’s move acknowledges that American consumers and the U.S. government are paying closer attention to what goes into packaged foods. Last January, days before former President Joe Biden left office, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned Red 3, a petroleum-based dye. A few months later, the FDA under President Donald Trump urged food makers to phase out petroleum-based artificial colors by the end of 2026. The agency is reviewing some other petroleum-based dyes, including Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5 and 6 and Blue No. 1. Earlier this month, the FDA said it was relaxing rules that restrict when food companies can claim that their products have no artificial colors. The agency said food labels may claim to have no artificial colors when they are free of petroleum-based dyes even if they contain dyes derived from natural sources such as plants. Target isn’t the first big retailer to nix artificial dyes. Whole Foods has never allowed products with artificial colors since its founding in 1980. Trader Joe’s also doesn’t use synthetic colors in its products. Last year, Walmart said it planned to remove synthetic food dyes and 30 other ingredients, including some preservatives, artificial sweeteners and fat substitutes, from its store brands sold in the United States by January 2027. Target noted that its private label Good & Gather brand, which it introduced in 2019, is made without artificial flavors and sweeteners, synthetic colors or high fructose corn syrup. The brand has more than 2,500 products across dairy, produce, ready made pastas meat as well as baby and toddler food. We know consumers are increasingly prioritizing healthier lifestyles, and were moving quickly to evolve our offerings to meet their needs, said Cara Sylvester, Targets executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, in a statement. In recent months, other major food companies like Kraft Heinz, Nestle and Conagra Brands have pledged to eliminate petroleum-based synthetic dyes in coming years. Anne D’Innocenzio and Dee-Ann Durbin, AP business writer
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||