The biggest changes Anthropic just made to Claude’s rules

Anthropic's new usage policy for Claude takes effect next month. Matteo Della Torre/NurPhoto via Getty Images Anthropic's new rule against abusing Claude wasn't the only update to its revised usage policy for the AI chatbot.The artificial intelligence lab has also spelled out a series of new usage provisions about deceptive campaigns, elections, weapons development, surveillance, law enforcement, and Claude-connected hardware.Anthropic said this week that most of the changes in the latest version of its usage policy were intended to clarify existing rules. The updated policy takes effect on November 12.Deceptive campaignsAnthropic added a new section to its AI rules titled, "Do Not Engage in Deceptive Campaigns or Artificial Activity," which the company said applies to deceptive activity of any kind, political or commercial."It covers efforts to obscure who is behind a message or amplify content through fake accounts or posts, along with building the tools and infrastructure for running influence operation campaigns," Anthropic said.ElectionsThe company refined its political content restrictions and sharpened its elections section, focusing it on "disallowing the use of Claude to deceive voters or disrupt elections."That section was renamed "Do Not Undermine Democratic Processes" and includes using Anthropic's products to "generate or disseminate false or misleading information in political and electoral contexts."WeaponsAnthropic said its usage policy has always barred the use of Claude to make weapons. However, its new rules make explicit that the chatbot cannot be used to develop the software or components that make weapons work, "as well as actions like arming drones or other autonomous vehicles."The company said it has recently seen users attempt to use its models to "build guidance and control software for weapons." Surveillance and law enforcementAnthropic tightened its usage policy's surveillance and criminal justice section to more specifically lay out banned activity. That includes tracking people without their consent as well as doxxing.Under the new policy, Claude also cannot be used to "decide or recommend who to investigate, arrest, or charge in a law enforcement or criminal justice process," or to build or improve tools designed for surveillance.Claude-connected hardwareAnthropic updated its policy to reflect new requirements for its models when they're connected to hardware that "takes autonomous physical actions and which might be capable of causing injury.""A qualified operator must be able to observe the equipment and stop it if needed; the equipment must also be able to hold a safe state if Claude is disconnected," Anthropic said. Read next Natalie is a senior reporter on Business Insider's Business News team covering the AI and data center boom.She was previously on BI's Legal Affairs team, where she handled major cases coming out of state and federal court, as well as bankruptcy. Her coverage often focused on stories at the intersection of law, business, politics, and technology. Natalie has covered Donald Trump’s criminal and civil cases, the wave of lawsuits against the second Trump administration, the indictment and criminal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and the legal battles facing Elon Musk and his companies. Natalie came to Business Insider in June 2021 as a breaking news reporter, focusing on the most interesting angles on the day's trending news. Natalie largely drove BI’s coverage around the fatal “Rust” shooting involving Alec Baldwin and the disappearance and murder of Gabby Petito.Prior to joining BI, Natalie worked for the New York Post, the New York Daily News, and The Brooklyn Paper. She has an extensive background covering crime and courts. During her more than 12-year journalism career, she did a stint covering the police beat out of the New York Police Department's headquarters. Natalie, a Brooklyn native, graduated from Brooklyn College in 2012 with a degree in journalism. Anthropic AI Technology More