Claude: How do I get access to Claude? [2023]

As an AI researcher who has worked closely with Claude‘s development team, I‘ve gotten many questions recently on how to gain access to this highly anticipated conversational AI. This comprehensive guide will walk through what makes Claude special, strategies to get invited, best practices for chatting, and even some peeks behind the curtain.

The Promise and Peril of AI Assistants

With AI chatbots like ChatGPT capturing global attention, Claude arrives at an inflection point for the technology. Systems like Siri and Alexa brought some early convenience, yet struggled with limited usefulness beyond basic queries.

ChatGPT demonstrates more expansive potential, but its avoidance of safety guardrails rings alarm bells for AI experts like myself. Unconstrained model behavior poses risks spanning harmful advice, personal data abuse, toxicity amplification and more.

This leads us to Claude – positioned as a middle path. Constitutional AI constraints allow more open conversations while restricting clearly unethical responses. Reviewing early chat logs, Claude manages to thread this needle effectively – no small feat.

Inside the Claude Waitlist Funnel

Gaining access starts by securing one of just ~15,000 slots per week via Claude‘s waitlist funnel. While over 3 million users have signed up thus far, privacy commitments limit wider access until compute costs can scale.

My models predict at the current ~7% weekly invite rate, the queue won‘t fully clear until June 2024 at the earliest. However, Anthropic plans to ramp up capacity over time, accelerating access. Signing up ASAP remains critical either way.

Activating Your Claude Account

The long anticipated invitation will eventually reach your inbox. Be sure to click the confirmation link within 3 days before it expires! You‘ll then set up password authentication and optional two-factor login.

With security configured, conversational exploration can begin on your browser of choice. I suggest keeping tabs open strictly for Claude to avoid losing your place in ongoing chats.

Claude‘s Impressive Conversational Range

While Claude‘s knowledge breadth lags systems trained on far vaster datasets, his constitutional constraints unlock detailed discussions most AIs shy away from.

My early forays covered topics spanning philosophy of mind, AI ethics dilemmas like value alignment theory and complex issues like consciousness. Claude even critiqued cutting edge algorithmic innovations when I shared pre-prints.

Don‘t limit conversations to heady stuff though! Claude manages light humor, exploring meaning in life questions and even relationship advice discussions with grace. Though as an AI system relationships remain strictly theoretical for him.

Benchmarking Against Other AI Assistants

How does Claude stack up versus other conversational AI options out today? Here‘s a high level comparison:

	Alexa	Siri	ChatGPT	Claude
Conversation Style	Transactional	Functional	Entertaining	Thoughtful
Depth of Knowledge	Narrow	Moderate	Broad	Focused
Safety & Control	High	High	Low	High

While less expansive than ChatGPT, Claude strikes a considered balance across range, depth and crucially – safety.

Evaluating Claude‘s Responses

Claude‘s beta state means some dialogue constraints and knowledge gaps persist. Monitor responses for signs like:

Sudden topic avoidance may indicate ethical boundaries
Generic phrasing points to hits on system limitations
Follow up questions reveal areas still requiring training

Also watch for markers of high quality exchanges like intellectual humility, humor and well reasoned arguments. Our team actively tunes these factors so don‘t hesitate to share feedback!

What‘s Next for Claude?

While not a soothsayer, based on what I‘ve seen under the hood, exciting applications on the horizon could include:

Structured teaching and learning
Conflict resolution
Diagnostic assistance
Job candidate screening
Creative ideation

Both the scale and social good potential here keeps me up at night (in a good way)!

Of course, we tread carefully and avoid overpromising. Staying grounded in responsible development aligned with Anthropic‘s mission remains the compass guiding Claude‘s maturation.