This week it is basically all Anthropic:
- Their CEO Dario Amodei was in Australia to sign an MOU with the Australian Government bringing a greater local presence, deeper collaboration with government and research and a commitment to Australia’s expectations for data centres.
- The company also unintentionally exposed some of Claude Code’s source code. Their scramble to issue copyright takedown notices to protect their model with no reflection that it unashamedly scrapes the copyright of the free and open web is just another reminder of the hypocrisy of AI.
- Amodei being in Australia has reignited the copyright and AI debate locally, with Anthropic and the content organisations each hosting opposing ‘future forums’ at Parliament House.
- To coincide with the MOU, Anthropic released research on how Australians are using Claude and the results are surprising.
- The AI company also released research on the emotions behind how Claude reacts to things and why that may be important to AI safety.
Also: Warner Music is acquiring independent music distributor Revelator, a US investment company has offered $64.3 billion for Universal Music, John Deere settles its right to repair class action and USB sticks to help people install ChromeOS Flex on older PCs and Macs sold out quicker than ChromeOS loads!
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Rapid-fire
A short list of other things:
- The Copyright Amendment Act 2026 (Cth) received the royal assent on Tuesday 1 April 2026 and therefore came into force on Wednesday 2 April 2026. You can view the Act now in the Federal Register of Legislation. Shoot through
- I fell for Magabala Books’ April Fool's joke. They are not opening a second bookstore in Naarm Melbourne. Shoot through
- Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) has transitioned their flagship quarterly online magazine INCITE to a year-round online publishing schedule on a dedicated subdomain. Shoot through
- Kengo Kuma, the Japanese architect behind Tokyo's Olympic stadium will design the new wing of The National Gallery in London. The design may be ‘exemplary’, but housing 20th and 21st century art in the wing could create a turf war with Tate. Shoot through
- Dr Ruth Higgins SC has been appointed as Australia’s next Solicitor‑General, the first woman appointed to the role. Dr Higgins commences in the 5-year appointment from Monday 8 June 2026. Shoot through
What’s been going on?
Here's WTF happened this week:
Anthropic and Australia signed an AI safety MOU
In a boon to the National AI Plan, the Albanese government has shored up an MOU between Anthropic and the Australian Government that will see deep collaboration with government and research, as well a commitment by Anthropic to meet the government’s expectations for data centres.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei was in Australia this week finalising a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Australian Government, the first of its kind under the National AI Plan which aims to capture the opportunities of AI, share its benefits and keep Australians safe. Under the plan, Australia’s AI capabilities will be strengthened through collaborative arrangements (like this one) with leading AI and tech companies.
