Merck highlights new technology to monitor calf behavior - Brownfield Ag News

Anthropic has barred users from exhibiting “sustained and needless abusive or cruel behavior” toward its models, as the company’s leaders continue to ponder machine consciousness. The Verge first reported the change in policy. A spokesperson for Anthropic, which is behind the AI chatbot Claude, did not immediately respond to an inquiry about what could be considered “abusive or cruel”. In an online user policy, the San Francisco-based company noted that its ban would not apply to common user frustrations, model testing or “dark creative themes”. Anthropic’s usage policy previously contained restrictions on abusive conduct. The company’s large language models have the ability to end a conversation if a user is being persistently harmful. When that feature rolled out last August, the company framed it as a safeguard for AI’s welfare. “We remain highly uncertain about the potential moral status of Claude and other LLMs, now or in the future. However, we take the issue seriously, and alongside our research program we’re working to identify and implement low-cost interventions to mitigate risks to model welfare, in case such welfare is possible.

Published at: Oct. 4, 2026, 10:45 a.m. CST by Barbarella Hey friends, Barbarella here. APPOFENIACS is in theaters now, and it should be required viewing. Not only does it serve as a reminder that you cannot believe everything you see online, but it also points out the potential extreme consequences of things that one posts.

Here’s your NYT Strands hint for today, plus the spangram and all of today’s Strands answers for puzzle No. 959 on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. Today’s Strands theme was tricky. It helps to be a runner. Read on for all the answers.