News — 2026-04-04

Anthropic unintentionally exposed the source code for its Claude Code tool, prompting a flood of GitHub reposts. Security researchers discovered that many of the copies include hidden infostealer malware, turning a simple code leak into a broader threat. The company has issued copyright takedown notices, trimming the number of repositories from over 8,000 to under 100. The episode follows earlier attempts to lure users with fake installation guides that also delivered malicious payloads. Read more

Anthropic announced that, effective 3 p.m. ET on April 4, its Claude AI will no longer be free for third‑party applications. Users of OpenClaw and similar tools must now purchase a usage bundle or provide a Claude API key. Founder and head of Claude Code, Boris Cherny, cited engineering constraints and capacity limits as the reason for the change, noting that existing subscription plans were not designed for the heavy usage patterns of these integrations. The move forces developers and end‑users to reconsider how they access Anthropic’s models. Read more

Anthropic announced that, beginning noon Pacific on April 4, subscribers to its Claude Code service will lose the ability to apply their subscription limits when using third‑party harnesses such as OpenClaw. Instead, users must switch to a pay‑as‑you‑go model billed separately. The change, explained by Claude Code head Boris Cherny, reflects the company’s need to align pricing with the heavy usage patterns of these tools and to sustain growth. The move follows OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger’s shift to OpenAI and comes as Anthropic offers refunds to affected customers. Read more

Anthropic announced that, effective April 4, 2026, Claude Pro and Max subscription plans can no longer be used with third‑party AI agent frameworks such as OpenClaw. Users must now pay for any extra usage under a pay‑as‑you‑go model or supply a separate API key. The move ends a quiet subsidy that let thousands of developers run autonomous agents on a flat‑rate plan, prompting cost spikes of up to 50 times for heavy users. Anthropic says the change protects capacity and aligns pricing with the compute‑intensive workloads of agentic tools. Read more

A class-action suit filed by an anonymous user, identified as John Doe, accuses Perplexity, the fast‑growing AI search platform, of breaching privacy promises. The complaint alleges that the company’s incognito feature fails to shield user conversations, instead funneling chat transcripts, IP addresses, email identifiers and location data to advertising partners such as Google and Meta. If the allegations prove true, the case could force tighter transparency standards across AI‑driven services. Read more

Researchers analyzing 1,372 participants across more than 9,500 decision‑making trials discovered that people accepted AI‑generated answers that were wrong 73.2% of the time, while only overturning them in 19.7% of cases. The study links high trust in artificial‑intelligence systems to a greater likelihood of being misled, whereas individuals with higher fluid intelligence were more prone to question the AI. Authors warn that while reliance on AI can be advantageous when the technology is superior, the current tendency to treat AI output as authoritative creates a structural vulnerability in human judgment. Read more

OpenAI announced a major executive reshuffle on April 3, 2026. COO Brad Lightcap will leave his operational role to head a new "special projects" unit reporting directly to CEO Sam Altman. CEO Fidji Simo disclosed she is taking several weeks of medical leave for a neuroimmune condition, while chief marketing officer Kate Rouch steps down to focus on cancer treatment. Denise Dresser, former Slack chief executive, assumes the chief revenue officer post, and co‑founder Greg Brockman will temporarily oversee product. The changes aim to preserve momentum on the company’s research and growth agenda. Read more

Anthropic completed a $400 million stock purchase of Coefficient Bio, a stealth AI biotech firm founded by former Genentech researchers Samuel Stanton and Nathan C. Frey. The acquisition adds a ten‑person team focused on accelerating drug discovery to Anthropic’s health and life‑science division, following the company’s October launch of Claude for Life Sciences, an AI tool aimed at scientific research. Read more

Anthropic has filed paperwork to create AnthroPAC, a political action committee funded by voluntary employee contributions up to $5,000 each. The PAC will target both parties in the upcoming midterm elections, donating to incumbent lawmakers and emerging candidates. The move signals the AI firm’s deeper foray into Washington’s lobbying arena amid an ongoing legal dispute with the Defense Department over the use of its models. Anthropic joins other tech companies that have collectively poured millions into election cycles in recent months. Read more

OpenClaw, the AI‑driven automation tool that has amassed over 347,000 GitHub stars since its November debut, received emergency patches this week for three high‑severity bugs. The most dangerous, CVE‑2026‑33579, scores between 8.1 and 9.8 out of 10 and lets a low‑level pairing credential silently elevate to full administrative rights, giving a malicious actor unrestricted access to the host’s files, accounts and connected services. Read more

OpenAI announced a series of senior‑level changes on Thursday as chief operating officer Brad Cox moves to a special‑projects role, former Slack CEO Denise Wasserman assumes his responsibilities, and chief marketing officer Kate Miller steps down to focus on cancer treatment. The updates come alongside CEO Sam Altman's disclosure that he will be on medical leave for several weeks due to a relapse of a neuroimmune condition. Read more

Six months after renegotiating its contract with OpenAI, Microsoft unveiled MAI-Transcribe-1, MAI-Voice-1 and MAI-Image-2 on its Foundry platform. The new models, built by a ten‑person team, boast lower error rates, faster speeds and competitive pricing, giving the tech giant a functional AI stack independent of its former partner. The rollout underscores Microsoft’s new freedom to pursue "humanist superintelligence" and could reshape enterprise AI spending. Read more

President Donald Trump’s effort to fast‑track AI data center construction is hitting a wall. Developers say aggressive tariffs on Chinese imports have crippled the supply chain for essential power‑equipment components, pushing delivery times from months to years. With U.S. manufacturers unable to meet demand, nearly half of the year’s planned facilities face delay or cancellation, jeopardizing the administration’s goal of keeping America ahead in the artificial‑intelligence race. Read more