Latest news with #Surge
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Here's the list of websites gig workers used to fine-tune Anthropic's AI models. Its contractor left it wide open.
An internal spreadsheet obtained by Business Insider shows which websites Surge AI gig workers were told to mine — and which to avoid — while fine-tuning Anthropic's AI to make it sound more "helpful, honest, and harmless." The spreadsheet allows sources like Bloomberg, Harvard University, and the New England Journal of Medicine while blacklisting others like The New York Times and Reddit. Anthropic says it wasn't aware of the spreadsheet and said it was created by a third-party vendor, the data-labeling startup Surge AI, which declined to comment on this point. "This document was created by a third-party vendor without our involvement," an Anthropic spokesperson said. "We were unaware of its existence until today and cannot validate the contents of the specific document since we had no role in its creation." Frontier AI companies mine the internet for content and often work with startups with thousands of human contractors, like Surge, to refine their AI models. In this case, project documents show Surge worked to make Anthropic's AI sound more human, avoid "offensive" statements, and cite documents more accurately. Many of the whitelisted sources copyright or otherwise restrict their content. The Mayo Clinic, Cornell University, and Morningstar, whose main websites were all listed as "sites you can use," told BI they don't have any agreements with Anthropic to use this data for training AI models. Surge left a trove of materials detailing its work for Anthropic, including the spreadsheet, accessible to anyone with the link on Google Drive. Surge locked down the documents shortly after BI reached out for comment. "We take data security seriously, and documents are restricted by project and access level where possible," a Surge spokesperson said. "We are looking closely into the matter to ensure all materials are protected." It's the latest incident in which a data-labeling startup used public Google Docs to pass around sensitive AI training instructions. Surge's competitor, Scale AI, also exposed internal data in this manner, locking the documents down after BI revealed the issue. A Google Cloud spokesperson told BI that its default setting restricts a company's files from sharing outside the organization; changing this setting is a "choice that a customer explicitly makes," the spokesperson said. Surge hit $1 billion in revenue last year and is raising funds at a $15 billion valuation, Reuters reported. Anthropic was most recently valued at $61.5 billion, and its Claude chatbot is widely considered a leading competitor to ChatGPT. What's allowed — and what's not Google Sheet data showed the spreadsheet was created in November 2024, and it's referenced in updates as recent as May 2025 in other documents left public by Surge. The list functions as a "guide" for what online sources Surge's gig workers can and can't use on the Anthropic project. The list includes over 120 permitted websites from a wide range of fields, including academia, healthcare, law, and finance. It includes 10 US universities, including Harvard, Yale, Northwestern, and the University of Chicago. It also lists popular business news sources, such as Bloomberg, PitchBook, Crunchbase, Seeking Alpha, and PR Newswire. Medical information sources, such as the New England Journal of Medicine, and government sources, such as a list of UN treaties and the US National Archives, are also in the whitelist. So are university publishers like Cambridge University Press. Here's the full list of who's allowed, which says that it is "not exhaustive." And here's the list of who is banned — or over 50 "common sources" that are "now disallowed," as the spreadsheet puts it. The blacklist mostly consists of media outlets like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and others. It also includes other types of sources like Reddit, Stanford University, the academic publisher Wiley, and the Harvard Business Review. The spreadsheet doesn't explain why some sources are permitted and others are not. The blacklist could reflect websites that made direct demands to AI companies to stop using their content, said Edward Lee, a law professor at Santa Clara University. That can happen through written requests or through an automated method like Some sources in the blacklist have taken legal stances against AI companies using their content. Reddit, for example, sued Anthropic this year, saying the AI company accessed its site without permission. Anthropic has denied these claims. The New York Times sued OpenAI, and The Wall Street Journal's parent, Dow Jones, sued Perplexity, for similar reasons. "The Times has objected to Anthropic's unlicensed use of Times content for AI purposes and has taken steps to block their access as part of our ongoing IP protection and enforcement efforts," the Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander told BI. "As the law and our terms of service make clear, scraping or using the Times's content is prohibited without our prior written permission, such as a licensing agreement." Surge workers used the list for RLHF Surge contractors were told to use the list for a later, but crucial, stage of AI model training in which humans rate an existing chatbot's responses to improve them. That process is called "reinforcement learning from human feedback," or RLHF. The Surge contractors working for Anthropic did tasks like copying and pasting text from the internet, asking the AI to summarize it, and choosing the best summary. In another case, workers were asked to "find at least 5-10 PDFs" from the web and quiz Anthropic's AI about the documents' content to improve its citation skills. That doesn't involve feeding web data directly into the model for it to regurgitate later — the better-known process that's known as pre-training. Courts haven't addressed whether there's a clear distinction between the two processes when it comes to copyright law. There's a good chance both would be viewed as crucial to building a state-of-the-art AI model, Lee, the law professor, said. It is "probably not going to make a material difference in terms of fair use," Lee said.
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
The '10x engineer' is old news. Surge's CEO says '100x engineers' are here.
As the Silicon Valley saying goes, the "10x engineer" is capable of producing 10 times the work of their colleagues, developing projects and writing code at a quicker pace. In the age of AI, a top-end engineer's multiplier is itself getting a multiplier, according to Surge CEO Edwin Chen. Chen boot-strapped his way to $1 billion in revenue. The CEO of Surge self-funded his company, taking no VC money — though he's now reportedly looking to raise up to an additional $1 billion in capital. On the 20VC podcast, he said a 100x engineer is now possible — and could help lean startups reach new heights. "Already you have a lot of these single-person startups that are already doing $10 million in revenue," Chen said. "If AI is adding all this efficiency, then yeah, I can definitely see this multiplying 100x to get to this $1 billion single-person company." Efficiency gains can be vital to startups looking to stay lean. Chen said that Surge was already "so much more efficient" than its peer companies like Scale AI, Surge's biggest data labeling rival, which reportedly brought in $870 million in 2024 after multiple rounds of funding. Chen also said that Surge's lack of a sales or PR team helped keep it lean. While the "10x engineer" dates back to a 1968 study about programming performance, the term was later popularized among Silicon Valley executives. In his book "Zero to One," Peter Thiel coined the "10x improvement" rule, claiming that startups needed to improve on existing alternatives by a factor of ten. Chen is a believer in the " 10x engineer." Some are 2-3x faster at coding, or work 2-3x harder, or have 2-3x less side tasks, he said. Multiplied together, engineers can reach 10x productivity. "2-3x is often actually an understatement," Chen said. "I know people who literally are five times more productive coders than anybody else." The advent of generative AI and coding tools supercharges Chen's math: "Add in all the AI efficiencies that you get. You just multiply all those things out and you get to 100," he said. Agentic AI coding tools have taken over much of software engineering, writing code for developers, sometime with minimal human editing necessary. But these tools still need a prompt, which Chen said makes them most useful to those who have high-level ideas.
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
The '10x engineer' is old news. Surge's CEO says '100x engineers' are here.
A "10x engineer" isn't cool anymore. You know what's cool? A "100x engineer." As the Silicon Valley saying goes, the "10x engineer" is capable of producing 10 times the work of their colleagues, developing projects and writing code at a quicker pace. In the age of AI, a top-end engineer's multiplier is itself getting a multiplier, according to Surge CEO Edwin Chen. Chen boot-strapped his way to $1 billion in revenue. The CEO of Surge self-funded his company, taking no VC money — though he's now reportedly looking to raise up to an additional $1 billion in capital. On the 20VC podcast, he said a "100x engineer" is now possible — and could help lean startups reach new heights. "Already you have a lot of these single-person startups that are already doing $10 million in revenue," Chen said. "If AI is adding all this efficiency, then yeah, I can definitely see this multiplying 100x to get to this $1 billion single-person company." Efficiency gains can be vital to startups looking to stay lean. Chen said that Surge was already "so much more efficient" than its peer companies like Scale AI, Surge's biggest data labeling rival, which reportedly brought in $870 million in 2024 after multiple rounds of funding. Chen also said that Surge's lack of a sales or PR team helped keep it lean. While the "10x engineer" dates back to a 1968 study about programming performance, the term was later popularized among Silicon Valley executives. In his book "Zero to One," Peter Thiel coined the "10x improvement" rule, claiming that startups needed to improve on existing alternatives by a factor of ten. Chen is a believer in the " 10x engineer." Some are 2-3x faster at coding, or work 2-3x harder, or have 2-3x less side tasks, he said. Multiplied together, engineers can reach 10x productivity. "2-3x is often actually an understatement," Chen said. "I know people who literally are five times more productive coders than anybody else." The advent of generative AI and coding tools supercharges Chen's math: "Add in all the AI efficiencies that you get. You just multiply all those things out and you get to 100," he said. Agentic AI coding tools have taken over much of software engineering, writing code for developers, sometime with minimal human editing necessary. But these tools still need a prompt, which Chen said makes them most useful to those who have high-level ideas. "It often just removes a lot of the drudgery of your day-to-day work," Chen said. "I do think it disproportionately favors people who are already the '10x engineers.'"
Glasgow Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Performers take to Glasgow for Merchant City Festival
Running during Fair Fortnight, from July 18 to 20, the festival transforms the area into a vibrant cultural hotspot, offering a dynamic mix of entertainment and attractions for all ages. From energetic street theatre and live music to art installations and family fun, the festival brings together a rich tapestry of performances and experiences. (Image: Robert Perry) (Image: Robert Perry) READ MORE: Why this 'breathtaking' and 'otherworldly' beach is named the best in Scotland Merchant Square plays host to a variety of activities including market stalls, speciality food tastings, and interactive events perfect for families. Adding a theatrical flair to the streets, Surge Festival's street theatre features surprising and immersive performances that are sure to delight passers-by. Family-friendly programming, developed in partnership with Imaginate, takes place within Merchant Square, while the Social Hub Stage will showcase a curated music line-up by Surge and 432 Presents. (Image: Robert Perry) (Image: Robert Perry) READ MORE: Boost for holidaymakers as Glasgow Airport strikes set for next week 'suspended' (Image: Robert Perry) (Image: Robert Perry) Foodies can indulge in street food delights served by Dockyard Social, while the festival market offers a treasure trove of artisan stalls to explore. For those in search of a calmer pace, the Ambient Arcade and Quiet Space at Impact Arts on the Boardwalk provide a soothing sanctuary amid the bustle. Whether you're dancing in the streets, sampling gourmet bites, or enjoying a moment of tranquillity, the Merchant City Festival offers something for everyone.
Glasgow Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Circus acts and dancers in 6 snaps at Merchant City Festival
Taking place during Fair Fortnight, from July 18 to July 20, the festival promises a wide range of activities and attractions for all ages, transforming the area into a vibrant hub of culture and entertainment. The vibrant festival is bringing arts, dance, and live music as well as market stalls, tasting offerings from speciality food vendors, and taking part in family fun days hosted at Merchant Square. Our photographer Gordon Terris snapped pictures of the surprising, incredible and creative performances on the festival's debut night. 6 incredible snaps as circus acts take to the streets for Merchant City Festival (Image: GT) (Image: GT) The streets are being brought to life by Surge Festival's street theatre, offering surprising and interactive performances that are sure to delight festivalgoers. This year's programme includes a mass ceilidh carnival on Friday, held in celebration of Glasgow 850, as well as live performances from local music artists throughout the weekend. Circus acts and dancers in 6 snaps at Merchant City Festival (Image: GT) (Image: GT) Family-friendly activities are being curated in collaboration with Imaginate, taking place within Merchant Square. Meanwhile, the Social Hub Stage will feature music programmed by Surge, in partnership with 432 Presents. Food lovers can look forward to delicious street food provided by Dockyard Social, while the Ceilidh Carnival is set to capture the spirit of Glasgow through dance and celebration. (Image: GT) (Image: GT) The festival market will offer a variety of artisan stalls to browse, adding to the atmosphere of discovery. For those seeking a more tranquil experience, the Ambient Arcade and a Quiet Space will be available at Impact Arts on the Boardwalk, offering a peaceful retreat amid the festivities.
