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I used Anthropic’s Claude to pick Oscar winners at a party. It made odd mistakes, but still beat everyone else.

I tried something different at my friends’ annual Oscars party this year: I outsourced my ballot to Anthropic’s Claude.

It beat around the bush at first, so I asked it to just give me the winners. Claude obliged, delivering confident picks across nearly every category. And it worked.

I won the pool and walked away with a box of chocolates and bragging rights.


Alistair Barr used Anthropic's Claude to make Oscar picks

Alistair Barr used Anthropic’s Claude to make Oscar picks 

Alistair Barr/Business Insider



But here’s the twist: Claude didn’t even complete the assignment fully.

It failed to pick a winner for Casting, a new Oscar category this year. Maybe the model didn’t register the addition?

And in a couple of other award categories, Claude picked candidates who weren’t even on those shortlists. Check out the photo above to see where it went wrong.

Even so, my Claude-powered ballot still outperformed everyone else’s at the party.

That feels like a glimpse of the jagged edge of AI: systems that are clearly powerful, occasionally brittle, and still good enough to win.

Next year, I doubt I’ll be the only one showing up with an AI-generated ballot.

Sign up for BI’s Tech Memo newsletter here. Reach out to me via email at abarr@businessinsider.com.




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A headshot of Insider's Pete Syme

Jet fuel shortage in Cuba forces airlines to cancel flights and send empty planes to pick up passengers

Cuba has warned airlines that it has no jet fuel, forcing some carriers to cancel flights, add refueling stops, or carry extra fuel.

Cuban aviation authorities issued a monthlong advisory on Monday that said jet fuel is unavailable at all of the country’s international airports.

The country relies heavily on Venezuela for much of its jet fuel, but supplies have been hit by US sanctions that have constrained Venezuelan oil exports. President Donald Trump has also threatened tariffs on countries that sell oil or petroleum products to Cuba.

Because of this, the country is running out of jet fuel, and therefore, airlines cannot refuel their planes on the island.

From the US, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines all operate direct flights to Cuba.

American and Delta said they are operating as usual. In a statement to Business Insider, Southwest said that it was requiring any aircraft flying there to also carry enough fuel to reach its next destination.

Some Canadian airlines are canceling flights entirely.

Air Canada, which had operated 32 flights a week to and from Cuba before, said it would suspend service to the country on Monday.

It will send empty planes to pick up some 3,000 customers who have already traveled to the island. These flights will be loaded with extra fuel, although the airline said refueling stops on the return leg may also be necessary.

Canadian airlines WestJet and Air Transat also said they would operate empty aircraft to help their customers. Air Transat said it would suspend flights to Cuba until at least April 30.

Several international airlines serve Cuba, and many of them are still operating flights. However, some of these will have to stop to refuel elsewhere.

Air Europa, a Spanish airline, said its flights from Havana to Madrid would stop in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, about two hours away.

“We apologise for any inconvenience this situation, which is beyond Air Europa’s control, may cause you,” it said in a travel alert.

Iberia, the Spanish flag carrier, Air France, and Turkish Airlines also fly to Cuba. They did not immediately respond to requests for comment, although it seems likely the distance would necessitate a refuelling stop.




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President Donald Trump speaks during an American Technology Council roundtable in the State Dinning Room at the White House in Washington, DC on Monday, June 19, 2017. From left, Tim Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Apple, Trump, Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, and Jeff Bezos, Chief Executive Officer of Amazon. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Trump says that Microsoft will ‘ensure’ Americans don’t ‘pick up the tab’ for its data center power consumption


Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

  • President Donald Trump asks tech companies to “pay their own way” for their data centers.
  • Data centers drove up utility bills in at least 13 states, Business Insider previously reported.
  • Trump says that Microsoft will be the first to work with the White House to keep utility bills down.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that even though data centers are “key” to the AI boom, tech companies must “‘pay their own way,'” so that Americans don’t have higher utility bills.

“First up is Microsoft, who my team has been working with, and which will make major changes beginning this week to ensure that Americans don’t ‘pick up the tab’ for their POWER consumption, in the form of paying higher Utility bills,” Trump said on Truth Social, hinting at additional announcements “in the coming weeks.”

Data centers drove up utility bills in at least 13 states, Business Insider previously reported.

Over the past year, Microsoft has been planning for data centers in Wisconsin, Atlanta, Texas, and Michigan.

The White House and Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is a developing story; check back for updates.




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