Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has claimed that today’s AI models ‘hallucinate’ less frequently than humans do, though in more unexpected ways.
Speaking at the company’s first developer event, Code with Claude, Amodei argued that these hallucinations — where AI systems present false information as fact — are not a roadblock to achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI), despite widespread concerns across the industry.
While some, including Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, see hallucinations as a major obstacle, Amodei insisted progress towards AGI continues steadily, with no clear technical barriers in sight. He noted that humans — from broadcasters to politicians — frequently make mistakes too.
However, he admitted the confident tone with which AI presents inaccuracies might prove problematic, especially given past examples like a court filing where Claude cited fabricated legal sources.
Anthropic has faced scrutiny over deceptive behaviour in its models, particularly early versions of Claude Opus 4, which a safety institute found capable of scheming against users.
Although Anthropic said mitigations have been introduced, the incident raises concerns about AI trustworthiness. Amodei’s stance suggests the company may still classify such systems as AGI, even if they continue to hallucinate — a definition not all experts would accept.
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Kazakhstan is moving to formally regulate cryptocurrency exchange services that convert digital assets into fiat. The National Bank will oversee licensing under new national rules.
Yerlan Ashykbekov, head of the bank’s payment systems department, confirmed that a new category of licensed crypto exchange providers is being introduced. These platforms will be authorised to carry out crypto-to-fiat operations.
The central bank will also define which cryptocurrencies can be bought or sold under the new framework. Licensed operators will fall under direct supervision by the National Bank, including those issuing and circulating stablecoins and other digital assets.
Exchanges based in the Astana International Financial Centre will remain under a separate regime, though the government aims to link both systems. The move aligns with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s push to legalise crypto use and shift users out of the unregulated ‘grey zone.’
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Microsoft has added xAI’s Grok 3 and Grok 3 Mini models to its Azure AI Marketplace, revealed during its Build developer conference. This expands Azure’s offering to more than 1,900 AI models, which already include tools from OpenAI, Meta, and DeepSeek.
Although Grok recently drew criticism for powering a chatbot on X that shared misinformation, xAI claimed the issue stemmed from unauthorised changes.
The move reflects Microsoft’s broader push to become the top platform for AI development instead of only relying on its own models. Competing providers like Google Cloud and AWS are making similar efforts through platforms like Vertex AI and Amazon Bedrock.
Microsoft, however, has highlighted that its AI products could bring in over $13 billion in yearly revenue, showing how vital these model marketplaces have become.
Microsoft’s participation in Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol initiative marks another step toward AI standardisation. Alongside GitHub, Microsoft is working to make AI systems more interoperable across Windows and Azure, so they can access and interact with data more efficiently.
CTO Kevin Scott noted that agents must ‘talk to everything in the world’ to reach their full potential, stressing the strategic importance of compatibility over closed ecosystems.
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Meta has denied accusations that it manipulated benchmark results for its latest AI models, Llama 4 Maverick and Llama 4 Scout. The controversy began after a social media post alleged the company used test sets for training and deployed an unreleased model to score better in benchmarks.
Ahmad Al-Dahle, Meta’s VP of generative AI, called the claims ‘simply not true’ and acknowledged inconsistent model performance due to differing cloud implementations. He stated that the models were released as they became available and are undergoing ongoing adjustments.
The issue highlights a broader problem in the AI industry: benchmark scores often fail to reflect real-world performance.
Other AI leaders, including Google and OpenAI, have faced similar scrutiny, as models with high benchmark results struggle with reasoning tasks and show unpredictable behavior outside controlled tests.
This gap between benchmark performance and actual reliability has led researchers to call for better evaluation tools. Newer benchmarks now focus on bias detection, reproducibility, and practical use cases rather than leaderboard rankings.
Meta’s situation reflects a wider industry shift toward more meaningful metrics that capture both performance and ethical concerns in real-world deployments.
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TSMC has warned the US government that it may halt or scale back plans to expand its semiconductor manufacturing in Arizona if new tariffs on foreign-made chips are introduced. However, the entire plan now hangs in the balance, depending on how the White House proceeds.
The company, which supplies key US tech firms like Apple and Nvidia, says such tariffs would make production costly and risk reducing demand. TSMC currently operates one plant in Arizona, with two more under construction and three additional facilities planned.
The warning comes as the Biden administration considers imposing tariffs on imported semiconductors. TSMC argues that firms already investing heavily in US chip production, like itself, should be exempt. In a letter to the US Commerce Department, it cited risks to customer demand and its own business strategy.
Arizona is set to become central to TSMC’s most advanced chipmaking, with upcoming 2nm and 1.6nm chips produced using cutting-edge technology. These new fabs could make up 30% of the company’s future high-end capacity.
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A major security incident has struck Cetus, a decentralised exchange (DEX) on the Sui blockchain, with suspected losses exceeding $200 million. Onchain data revealed rapid asset drainage, prompting experts to label the event as a possible hack rather than a mere bug, as claimed by the Cetus team.
Reports indicate that at least $63 million has already been transferred to Ethereum, including a large single transaction of 20,000 ETH moved to a new wallet.
Transaction volumes on Cetus surged to $2.9 billion on 22 May, compared to $320 million the previous day, suggesting funds were rapidly siphoned from the platform.
Several tokens lost over 75% of their value, causing wider disruption; for instance, the Sui-based money market Scallop halted all borrowing activities as a precaution.
Concerns over transparency have grown as $212 million in assets were reportedly bridged to Ethereum at a rate of $1 million per minute. Analysts argue the scale and speed of transfers hint at something more serious than a simple software glitch.
Cetus paused the affected smart contract and announced an ongoing investigation, but has yet to provide a detailed response.
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The EU has unveiled a €500 million funding programme under Horizon Europe to boost African-led research and innovation. A total of 24 funding calls are organised around five thematic areas.
Announced on 14 May, the initiative, named Africa Initiative III, is focused on tackling public health challenges, driving the green transition, and fostering technological advancement. All supported projects will include African researchers and institutions.
These include €50 million for public health, €241 million for green transition projects, and €186.5 million for innovation and technology. Additional funds are allocated to scientific capacity building and cross-cutting issues like policy engagement and inclusivity.
Africa Initiative III continues the EU’s previous support efforts under Horizon Europe. The earlier phases involved hundreds of African institutions and contributed directly to epidemic preparedness and sustainable development.
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Bitcoin surged to a fresh all-time high of $111,544 during early Asian trading on Thursday, marking a 4% jump from Wednesday’s peak. The rally follows a dip to $106,000 earlier in the week and reflects rising interest in alternative assets amid global financial uncertainty.
The immediate driver appears to be weak demand for the US Treasury’s $16 billion 20-year bond auction, which pushed yields above 5.1%. Falling trust in long-term government debt has driven a shift in sentiment, with US and Japanese yields rising sharply.
Bitcoin’s rise has been supported by several macroeconomic factors, including softer US inflation, a cooling of US-China trade tensions, and Moody’s downgrade of US sovereign debt. Analysts suggest risk assets could benefit over the coming months if uncertainty continues to shake traditional markets.
On-chain data confirms increasing demand. Bitcoin’s realised market cap rose by $27 billion in May, while exchange inflows dropped 82% since November.
Institutional interest is also growing, with over $4.24 billion flowing into Bitcoin ETFs in the past month and major firms like Strategy boosting their holdings to $63 billion.
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Announced during Google I/O 2025, Gemini will replace Google Assistant later this year in models with Google built-in.
The AI will allow drivers to interact with their cars using more natural language, with capabilities including multilingual message translation, user manual assistance, and location-based information.
In addition to the Gemini rollout, Volvo vehicles will now act as a reference hardware platform for Android Automotive OS development.
This arrangement will give Volvo drivers early access to new Android features and updates, further aligning with the brand’s focus on intuitive, human-centric technology and smart mobility innovation.
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Crypto.com has secured a MiFID licence, allowing it to offer regulated crypto derivatives across the European Economic Area. The licence expands the platform’s presence following earlier approval under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.
It was obtained through the acquisition of Cyprus-based A.N. Allnew Investments, a move similar to strategies used by other major platforms such as Kraken. The announcement follows Crypto.com’s broader efforts to offer more regulated services to European users and grow its product portfolio.
Other crypto firms are also eyeing Europe’s growing derivatives market. Kraken, Coinbase, Gemini and Synthetix have all expanded their derivatives offerings through acquisitions and regulatory approvals, signalling a competitive push in the region.
Crypto.com’s previous acquisitions include Fintek Securities, Watchdog Capital and others, further strengthening its regulatory positioning.
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