Hello again and welcome back.

I’m getting this out early b/c I am doing family things later this week.

Plus: today’s a fun one for me.

Something happened that has never happened before:

I went viral on X.

Yes - after months of daily tweets that often get ZERO likes, something struck a chord here.

Quick Context

There are many “AI” companies but only a few true power players at the consumer level.

You have Google and Meta, both established Tech behemoths with their own brands and styles.

You have xAI/Grok, which will always be an extension of Elon and his 1/1 personality.

Then there’s OpenAI, who brought AI mainstream with ChatGPT and are led by their controversial and impossible to ignore founder: Sam Altman.

Finally, there’s Anthropic…but who is Anthropic and what role can they carve for themselves in this packed and cutthroat industry?

About Anthropic

This company is no small outsider. They’ve raised billions, are worth hundreds of billions, and are backed by the big boys in Venture + beyond.

Their competitor to ChatGPT is called Claude.

There are various models (versions), and many people love using Claude for coding, but we’re going to focus away from the technicalities and solely on the cultural differentiators and significance.

Anthropic does not have the built-in distribution of Meta/Google/X. They do not have the notoriety or AI association of OpenAI, who is undoubtedly leading the mindshare race across the industry. ChatGPT has become a verb like Google for search or Airbnb for vacation homes.

But each of these Anthropic competitors have shortcomings when dealing with brand, aesthetics, meaning, and cultural impact. This is the opportunity for Anthropic to differentiate themselves.

Too many of these AI companies focus on features and technical details, which are generally irrelevant to the consumer. Worse, leaders like Meta and OpenAI have both proudly released their own version of AI TikTok, where users can generate fake videos with a simple prompt.

This has only fed the “slop” narrative plaguing the AI conversation right now. These tech developments are cool on the surface, but ultimately represent a further departure from craft, character, and authenticity. OpenAi’s “Sora” and Meta’s “Vibes” are the antithesis of Human-Proof Experiences.

Even on the positive side, the marketing surrounding Anthropic’s competitors is generally “tools that make things easier” whether its copy, image/video generation/ coding, search, etc.

Some of these things are fantastic, but they don’t capture our hearts and minds.

My Experience

I have used Claude for nearly a year now. I use it for anything even remotely creative, thought-provoking, or artisanal.

I think ChatGPT has incredible utilitarian usage, but Claude has much more character.

The answers are more thoughtful, it feels less robotic, it’s not sycophantic.

My interactions with it feel noticeably different, and that makes all the difference.

It’s not the features - it’s the feeling.

The Pop-Up

That’s why their Pop-Up activation at the Air Mail shop in NYC resonated with me and many others over the weekend.

First of all, Air Mail was created by the legendary Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter.

This collaboration alone immediately signals cultural discernment and, dare I say…taste.

Second, the aesthetics behind the brand, from the logo, to the photographic tones, to the typeface, to the merch, feels much more artisanal than anything else we’re seeing out of Silicon Valley.

Third and most important, the message: Put YOUR Thinking Cap On.

Finally, an AI built to empower and enhance human intelligence, creativity, and capabilities. Not one that removes the need for any.

This makes all the difference.

We are so weary of AI corrupting the human experience.

It’s a breath of fresh air to feel like it makes us better rather than replaceable.

Why I Tweeted

Tweeting is a funny thing. As I’ve written, many people create to go viral rather than share beauty. The incentives are misaligned.

I genuinely tweet to share ideas that make people think and engage and promote my writing. I try not to take myself to seriously either - X is a great place to interact with others, but it’s also ridiculous.

I said “I think” Anthropic “might” be the next Apple, and I genuinely meant it, because they are engaged in Values-Based Marketing.

Steve Jobs pioneered this with Apple. IBM, Microsoft & others were building incredible computers, processing chips, and technical features, but Apple went the other way.

They:

• Focused on communicating core values rather than product features

• Sought emotional connection through shared beliefs

• Aimed to create a brand identity that transcends products

Their “Think Different” campaign was revolutionary because it focused on the power of the passionate individual to change the world. It was all values, emotions, and meaning. It was a story people wanted to believe about themselves.

This is what I recognized with the response to the “Thinking” pop-up.

Yes, the phrasing is almost identical, but it steel feels unique and - more importantly - exactly what’s needed for the times.

It’s not about what it does on a technical level, it’s about how it makes us feel and how it elevates our inherent humanity.

It’s not thinking for you, it’s supporting your ability to think for yourself.

Anthropic is nowhere near Apple yet. But this positioning is exactly what they need to double down on.

The Response

Not only did my tweet go viral, but I got the classic screenshot treatment:

What an honor. A right of passage, if you will.

Phillip is probably a pretty smart guy who understands it has nothing to do with the hat. It’s smart and well executed, but far from groundbreaking.

That would be like criticizing the reaction to this “Think Different” ad by saying it’s just a bunch of celebrity clips.

It has everything to do with what people felt and how they responded to the Human-Proof Messaging:

It was culturally coherent, signaled character over optimization & the aesthetic screamed craft/authenticity. Just the idea of running out of and re-stocking hats is such a human and relatable thing. Most billion dollar companies wouldn’t be live tweeting that they ran out of merch.

Final Thoughts

Who knows what Anthropic or OpenAI will come to mean to us. The story is being written in real time.

Sam Altman has Jobs-like qualities and the product team ships at unparalleled intervals. They just announced app integration yesterday. Maybe they’ll be more like Apple over time.

Maybe Apple will buy Anthropic, forever intertwining the two and giving me the ultimate “told you so” tweet.

One thing is for sure: Anthropic got many people “thinking” about what matters to them, which is an irreplaceably human exercise.

RP WEEKLY!!!!