AI Labels Are Big Tech's Most Basic Responsibility, Even Those Claude Watermarks

I’ve been reporting on AI image and video generators, and the push for labels on AI-generated content, for years now. So I was pretty surprised when a recent announcement from Anthropic, saying it will begin watermarking AI-generated text and files, sparked outrage from some AI loyalists. To be sure, Anthropic isn’t doing this out of the good of its corporate heart, or even to make you mad. It’s doing it because it’s legally mandated to in Europe, thanks to a newly enacted regulation. The Claude maker wants to avoid a legal headache and potential fine. Its solution is to add an invisible signature to text and files made by its chatbot that can, eventually, be decoded. The backlash was swift. Some people reportedly started canceling their Claude subscriptions in a bizarre boycott. All for watermarks that we can’t even spot for ourselves yet.