tech

Claude is still top of the US free App Store, as users defect from ChatGPT following Pentagon deal

Last Friday, President Trump directed federal agencies to cease using all Anthropic products owing to its very messy, very public dispute with the Department of War (née Defense), which had centered around the potential US military use of its AI. Just a day later, OpenAI announced that it had made an agreement to supply artificial intelligence to the Pentagon.

It didn’t take long for consumers to respond to news of the deal, which OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has now conceded looked “opportunistic and sloppy” in a post on X. Uninstalls of the ChatGPT mobile app jumped 295% on Saturday from the day before, according to figures from Sensor Tower reported by TechCrunch, as fears around the since-amended agreement’s privacy implications grew.

Claude ChatGPT downloads Feb chart — Sherwood News

Appfigures numbers cited by TechCrunch tell a similar story: US downloads of Anthropic’s Claude app increased by 89% on Feb. 28 across the App Store and Google Play, while downloads of the ChatGPT app sunk 22% from the day before.

With so many American ChatGPT users appearing to defect to the chatbot, Claude rose to become the most downloaded free app on Apple’s US App Store, a position it still holds as of 8:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday — though the sudden popularity boost also saw Anthropic report “elevated errors” in the model on Monday.

Appfigures numbers cited by TechCrunch tell a similar story: US downloads of Anthropic’s Claude app increased by 89% on Feb. 28 across the App Store and Google Play, while downloads of the ChatGPT app sunk 22% from the day before.

With so many American ChatGPT users appearing to defect to the chatbot, Claude rose to become the most downloaded free app on Apple’s US App Store, a position it still holds as of 8:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday — though the sudden popularity boost also saw Anthropic report “elevated errors” in the model on Monday.

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tech

Waymos reportedly continuing to pass stopped school buses after earlier recall over same issue

The National Transportation Safety Board reported Tuesday that it’s looking into two recent instances of driverless Waymo vehicles passing stopped school buses. The incidents occurred after the Alphabet subsidiary filed a voluntary recall in December over similar behavior.

In the January 12 case, the NTSB says video evidence shows the Waymo vehicle initially stopped for a school bus that had its red lights flashing and stop arms extended. Three human-driven vehicles then passed the bus illegally. While stopped, the Waymo vehicle contacted a remote assistance agent located in Michigan, asking whether the bus had active signals. After the agent responded “no,” the vehicle resumed travel and passed the bus while its stop arms were still extended. No one was hurt.

tech

OpenAI’s new GPT-5.3 Instant: Less “cringe” tone, no more “over-caveating” responses

OpenAI has released GPT-5.3 Instant, a conversational model that the company says will have smoother conversations more to the point.

It seems OpenAI is walking back from its cautious guardrails, allowing a more permissive AI chatbot.

In a video describing the new model, a researcher explained, “People are noticing that our models can sometimes seem like a bit of a nanny.” The company describes this overcautious behavior as “over-caveating,” and this new model aims to relax a bit and let more things slide.

An example showed a question about calculations for “a really long-distance archery scenario.” The previous version of the model noted that the AI could not help with calculations that could be harmful. The new model’s response just went ahead and answered the question, without assuming any bad intent.

The researcher in the video said that these changes did not loosen safety controls, but rather just improved contextual understanding of the user’s query.

The model also features more useful web searches, which attempt to infer the context of why the user is asking the question and then tailor a more useful response. The company says results won’t appear to be just a list of links, but rather a more direct response with the information the user was looking for.

OpenAI said the new model is available today for all users of ChatGPT.

GPT-5.3 Instant: Smoother, more useful everyday conversations

GPT-5.3 Instant: Smoother, more useful everyday conversations

In a video describing the new model, a researcher explained, “People are noticing that our models can sometimes seem like a bit of a nanny.” The company describes this overcautious behavior as “over-caveating,” and this new model aims to relax a bit and let more things slide.

An example showed a question about calculations for “a really long-distance archery scenario.” The previous version of the model noted that the AI could not help with calculations that could be harmful. The new model’s response just went ahead and answered the question, without assuming any bad intent.

The researcher in the video said that these changes did not loosen safety controls, but rather just improved contextual understanding of the user’s query.

The model also features more useful web searches, which attempt to infer the context of why the user is asking the question and then tailor a more useful response. The company says results won’t appear to be just a list of links, but rather a more direct response with the information the user was looking for.

OpenAI said the new model is available today for all users of ChatGPT.

OpenAI’s Altman: Our rushed deal with the Pentagon “looked opportunistic and sloppy”

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared an internal memo in which he expressed some regrets for the bad optics of the company’s hasty deal with the Pentagon, and outlined new additions that were made to the agreement.

Jerome Powell and Sam Altman Speak At Federal Reserve's Regulatory Capital Framework Conference

The vast majority of Tesla Robotaxi rides in Austin still have a safety driver

In January, Tesla announced its Robotaxis would begin operating without safety monitors. It doesn’t appear to have scaled up much.

Tesla Robotaxi

tech

Apple updates Mac chips and amps up AI claims

Apple’s new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are the latest step in its steady silicon march: faster CPUs, stronger graphics, more memory bandwidth. The 30% CPU performance increase is meaningful but incremental — not the kind of leap that accompanied the original M1 transition from Intel.

What’s more notable is how aggressively Apple is framing this around AI. The company is touting up to 4x higher peak GPU compute for AI workloads and the ability to run larger models locally, leaning hard into the on-device AI narrative as it positions the MacBook Pro as a more capable personal AI development machine.

It may be paying off in unexpected ways, as the explosion of interest in roll-your-own AI agents like Moltbot have made low-cost Macs like the MacMini a hot item.

Apple debuts M5 Pro and M5 Max to supercharge the most demanding pro workflows

Apple debuts M5 Pro and M5 Max to supercharge the most demanding pro workflows

It may be paying off in unexpected ways, as the explosion of interest in roll-your-own AI agents like Moltbot have made low-cost Macs like the MacMini a hot item.

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