Independent Assessment of AI R&D Acceleration at Anthropic in October 2026

Summary

METR staff performed a high-access evaluation at Anthropic from August 12 to October 29, 2026, to assess whether AI is accelerating AI R&D. The report estimates that, as of October 2026, Anthropic's models are improving on well-specified tasks at about twice the rate seen between March 2024 and October 2025, with high uncertainty. Anthropic redacted most of the evidence the authors found most informative, which limits the public's ability to check the conclusions.

Related items

• InfoPerplexity launches its own take on AI agents for workSame vendor · The Verge (AI)
• MediumFake OpenAI, SpaceX events used to steal Microsoft, Google accountsSame vendor · BleepingComputer
• InfoClaude AI can plug directly into your bank accountSame vendor · The Verge (AI)
• InfoReview of the "Risks from automated R&D" section in Anthropic's Risk Report (August 2026)Same vendor · METR
• MediumTop AI agent security resources — November 2026Same vendor · Adversa AI Blog