Anthropic’s launch of AI legal tool hits shares in European data companies
European publishing and legal software companies have suffered sharp declines in their share prices after the US artificial intelligence startup Anthropic revealed a tool for use by companies’ legal departments.Anthropic, the company behind the chatbot Claude, said its tool could automate legal work such as contract reviewing, non-disclosure agreement triage, compliance workflows, legal briefings and templated responses.Shares in the UK publishing group Pearson fell by nearly 8% on the news, and shares in the information and analytics company Relx plunged 14%.The software company Sage lost 10% in London and the Dutch software company Wolters Kluwer lost 13% in Amsterdam.Shares in the London Stock Exchange Group fell by 13% and the credit reporting company Experian dropped by 7% in London, amid fears over the impact of AI on data companies.
Nasdaq-listed Thomson Reuters’ shares plummeted 18%,“The likes of Relx, London Stock Exchange Group, Experian, Sage, Informa and Pearson were smashed as AI provider Anthropic unveiled a new product,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell,“The concern will be that, at the very least, the emergence of tools like the one unveiled by Anthropic will reduce the margins these data-driven companies can achieve and, in a worst-case scenario, disintermediate them [remove them as providers] entirely,”The FTSE 100 had hit a record high on Tuesday morning but the sell-off dragged the blue chip index into the red,Anthropic said the plugin did not provide legal advice.
“AI-generated analysis should be reviewed by licensed attorneys before being relied upon for legal decisions,” the startup said.The company also announced a number of other open-source tools to automate a range of professional activities, including sales and customer support.Anthropic was founded in 2021 by Dario Amodei, its chief executive, and other former staff members from OpenAI, which developed ChatGPT.“Anthropic launched new capabilities for its Cowork to the legal space, heightening competition within the space,” Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note on Thomson Reuters.“We view this as a sign of intensifying competition, and thus a potential negative.
”The share price declines deal another severe blow to Nick Train, one of the UK’s most high-profile fund managers, whose firm Lindsell Train has run Finsbury Growth & Income Trust since 2000.The trust’s four largest holdings are Sage, Experian, London Stock Exchange and Relx and its shares fell more than 5% on Tuesday.Train apologised again for the “dire” performance of the investment trust at its annual meeting last month, after surviving a vote on its future.The FTSE 250-listed company is the worst-performing UK equity income trust over one year and five years.The news will reignite fears of job losses caused by the AI boom.
Clifford Chance, one of the largest international law firms, said in November it was reducing the number of business services staff at its London base by 10%, citing increased use of AI as a factor behind the decision,Along with factory jobs that can be automated, office-based jobs are seen as vulnerable to advances in AI – computer systems that perform cognitive tasks typically associated with human intelligence,The UK is losing more jobs than it is creating as companies adopt more AI tools, and is being hit harder than rival large economies, according to a study by Morgan Stanley,More than a quarter (27%) of UK workers are worried their jobs could disappear in the next five years as a result of AI, a recent survey of thousands of employees showed,It found that British businesses reported an average 11.
5% increase in productivity aided by AI.US businesses reported similar gains, but created more jobs than they cut.In his annual Mansion House speech last month, the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said AI could destroy swathes of jobs in the capital.He said London was “at the sharpest edge of change” because of its reliance on white-collar workers in the finance and creative industries, and professional services such as law, accounting, consulting and marketing.Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, has also warned that “some jobs will go”, as she announced plans to train up to 10 million British workers, including members of the cabinet, in basic AI skills by 2030.
Lindsell Train and Nick Train have been contacted for comment.
Women in tech and finance at higher risk from AI job losses, report says
Women working in tech and financial services are at greater risk of losing their jobs to increased use of AI and automation than their male peers, according to a report that found experienced females were also being sidelined as a result of “rigid hiring processes”.“Mid-career” women – with at least five years’ experience – are being overlooked for digital roles in the tech and financial and professional services sectors, where they are traditionally underrepresented, according to the report by the City of London Corporation.The governing body that runs the capital’s Square Mile found female applicants were discriminated against by rigid, and sometimes automated, screening of their CVs, which did not take into account career gaps related to caring for children or relatives, or only narrowly considered their professional experience.To reverse the trend, the corporation is calling on employers to focus on re-skilling female workers not currently in technical roles, particularly those in clerical positions most at risk of being displaced by automation.It is estimated that about 119,000 clerical roles in tech and the financial and professional service sectors, predominantly carried out by women, will be displaced by automation over the next decade
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To Elon Musk’s fanclub, there is nothing to see apart from more evidence of the great man’s visionary genius. SpaceX, the rocket firm, is buying xAI, the artificial intelligence developer, and the combination of these two Musk-controlled entities is being valued at $1.25tn (£910bn). Feel the positive vibes ahead of a stock market debut due in June! The most valuable private company in history! The largest ever transaction!Or, as Musk described it, he is creating “the most ambitious, vertically integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth, with AI, rockets, space-based internet, direct-to-mobile device communications and the world’s foremost real-time information and free-speech platform”.SpaceX’s minority shareholders may have a less stellar view
From ‘nerdy’ Gemini to ‘edgy’ Grok: how developers are shaping AI behaviours
Do you want an AI assistant that gushes about how it “loves humanity” or one that spews sarcasm? How about a political propagandist ready to lie? If so, ChatGPT, Grok and Qwen are at your disposal.Companies that create AI assistants, from the US to China, are increasingly wrestling with how to mould their characters, and it is no abstract debate. This month Elon Musk’s “maximally truth-seeking” Grok AI caused international outrage when it pumped out millions of sexualised images. In October OpenAI retrained ChatGPT to de-escalate conversations with people in mental health distress after it appeared to encourage a 16-year-old to take his own life.Last week, the $350bn San Francisco startup Anthropic released an 84-page “constitution” for its Claude AI
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Elon Musk’s X and xAI companies are under formal investigation by the UK’s data protection watchdog after the Grok AI tool produced indecent deepfakes without people’s consent.The Information Commissioner’s Office is investigating whether the social media platform and its parent broke GDPR, the data protection law.It said the creation and circulation of the images on social media raised serious concerns under the UK’s data regime, such as whether “appropriate safeguards were built into Grok’s design and deployment”.The move came after French prosecutors raided the Paris headquarters of X as part of an investigation into alleged offences including the spreading of child abuse images and sexually explicit deepfakes.X became the subject of heavy public criticism in December and January when the platform’s account for the Grok AI tool was used to mass-produce partially nudified images of girls and women
‘Swagger’ and mindset change is key for England in Six Nations glory chase
England will embrace the expectation surrounding their bid to end the wait for a Six Nations title, according to Tommy Freeman. The centre says his side will “have a bit of swagger” during the Championship.Accusations of English arrogance, particularly from their Six Nations rivals, are nothing new, but the best England sides have not wanted for self-belief and Freeman says they intend to puff out their chests as they seek to extend their 11-match winning run.Such confidence is reflective of the mood in the camp. Steve Borthwick has told us repeatedly how he expects Wales to play on Saturday and has challenged England to ensure they are in the hunt for the grand slam on Super Saturday – the final round of the championship on 14 March – when they face France in Paris, urging supporters to “flood across the Channel”
England beat Sri Lanka by 12 runs in third T20 to seal 3-0 series win – as it happened
Theekshana c Dawson b Bethell 2 Bethell the hero! Denied a fourth wicket by a review, he soon induces a top edge which is safely held by Dawson at backward point. England win the match by 12 runs and complete a clean sweep. It’s a white-ball whitewash!“That was awesome,” says Harry Brook. “One of the best wins I’ve ever had… Sixteen overs of spin – to do that to a Sri Lankan team in their own country is awesome… It’s been an awesome tour.”He receives the trophy, which, as in the ODI series, is much the same size as the one for the Champions League in football
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