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Indian grocery startup Citymall raises M to challenge ultra-fast delivery giants | TechCrunch

Indian grocery startup Citymall raises $47M to challenge ultra-fast delivery giants | TechCrunch

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Indian e-commerce startup Citymall, which focuses on budget-focused grocery delivery for tier 2 and tier 3 towns, said today that it has raised $47 million in Series D funding led by Accel, with participation from existing investors including Waterbridge Ventures, Citius, General Catalyst, Elevation Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, and Jungle Ventures.

The Series D round comes three years after the company’s $75 million Series C round led by Norwest Venture Partners. The valuation of the company at $320 million has remained flat over this period. According to sources familiar with the deal who spoke with TechCrunch, investors used nearly a 4x multiple of Citymall’s past year of revenue as a benchmark. The company has raised $165 million to date.

Investors in Citymall told TechCrunch that the prior valuation reflected a bullish market environment at the time, which explains why the valuation has remained unchanged despite the company’s growth. However, they remain optimistic about the company’s trajectory.

iMage Credits: Screenshot by TechCrunch

“We have been an investor in Citymall since the Series A, and we wanted to double down with this investment because we think online grocery shopping, and the value segment within that, is the largest consumer market in India,” Pratik Agarwal of Accel told TechCrunch over a call.

Citymall’s funding comes at a time of a quick-commerce frenzy in the Indian market. Companies like BlinkIt, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, and Tata-owned BigBasket are rushing to serve customers within 10 minutes. Citymall wants to take a different approach by targeting a different customer segment.

The startup targets value-conscious customers who make planned purchases of groceries instead of ordering for their immediate needs through quick-commerce apps. Citymall CEO Angad Kikla explained that the app offers about half the product selection (SKUs) of a quick commerce app but double the selection of an offline value store. (SKUs, or “stock keeping units,” refer to the number of different products available.)

“While e-commerce is growing as a segment, the penetration of online grocery is low,” Kikla said. “Most of the folks in India are value-conscious while buying groceries. We want to cater to that cohort. We want to think of ourselves as an equivalent of Dmart in the online world,” he said, referring to the publicly listed superstore chain.

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The startup, founded in 2019, initially relied on community leaders in different cities to market its product, take orders, and handle last-mile fulfillment before COVID-19 struck. During the early pandemic period, when people were just getting introduced to ordering groceries online, some customers needed hands-on assistance. After that period, the company switched to using community leaders only for fulfillment to reduce costs and streamline operations.

The company’s strategy focuses on building private labels and partnerships with manufacturers to offer goods at lower prices than competitors, while creating margins through operational and supply chain efficiencies. Unlike quick commerce startups, Citymall doesn’t charge any handling or delivery fees, and it typically delivers goods in a day rather than in minutes for value-minded customers who don’t need items immediately.

Citymall says that customers earning anywhere from ₹15,000 to ₹80,000 a month ($170-$910) are its primary user base. The company reports an average order value of ₹450 -500 (between $5-6).

The company operates in 60 cities, including Delhi NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, and Uttarakhand. Kikla said Citymall aims to expand to cities adjacent to its current markets to better utilize its existing warehouses.

While Citymall has seen steady business growth over the last three years, the company had over 30% negative EBIDTA margins for the last financial year, according to the research firm Entrackr. The startup said that it is operationally profitable but didn’t provide a timeline for achieving overall profitability.

The company is operating in competitive sector that’s facing pressure from local stores, online grocery platforms, and even quick commerce platforms. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, quick commerce platforms are poised to capture 20% of e-commerce sales in India by 2035.

Manish Kheterpal, co-founder of Waterbridge Capital, a firm that has invested in Citymall in multiple rounds, said that quick commerce encourages impulse spending through marketing to users. In contrast, he said Citymall’s lower operating costs compared to quick commerce competitors give it an edge.

“Citymall offers cheaper essentials to users who might order a few times a month. The company buys goods directly from suppliers and uses its community leaders to achieve to low cost of distribution that results in building a healthy gross margin,” Kheterpal told TechCrunch.

According to analysis by Bernstein Research, food and grocery dominate India’s largely unorganized retail sector. The firm also estimates that online grocery shopping will account for 12% of e-commerce sales by the end of this calendar year.

Image Credit: Bernstien

Despite quick commerce’s rapid growth, companies operating beyond metropolitan areas face higher per-order costs, according to an analysis by the strategy firm Redseer. Citymall’s thesis is that value-conscious customers will choose its platform over quick commerce due to lower fees and product costs. By combining this with lower delivery costs, the company believes it can achieve better economies of scale by serving more users.

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Find X9 launch, the OPPO Find X9 Ultra will soon be available in India, bringing some exciting changes to the device, specifically aimed at boosting its camera performance. The firm is shifting its focus to hardware to enhance optical zoom capabilities, rather than relying too heavily on software.

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OPPO Find X9 Ultra Camera Details Revealed Ahead of India Launch After a stellar Find X9 launch, the OPPO Find X9 Ultra will soon be available in India, bringing some exciting changes to the device, specifically aimed at boosting its camera performance. The firm is shifting its focus to hardware to enhance optical zoom capabilities, rather than relying too heavily on software. The star attraction is QPPS, a new periscope architecture that enhances the feasibility of extended-range optical zoom. In most smartphones, optical zoom is achieved using a single prism that deflects the light path horizontally. Although this design boosts zoom range, it is constrained by the space available in the phone body. What is QPPS? The QPPS (Quintuple Prism Periscope Structure) is designed to extend zoom using a smarter internal setup. In the camera body, the light reflects five times before hitting the sensor, thereby increasing the length of the optical pathway. Furthermore, the OPPO Find X9 Ultra can increase its focal length without compromising its thinness. The phone, therefore, can achieve true 10x optical zoom, equivalent to a 230mm lens. An additional benefit of optical zoom is its ability to maintain image quality. Since the zoom is handled by the camera hardware, there’s less need for cropping or digital enhancement. This leads to sharper and more natural images. In everyday use, it improves shots of distant subjects and creates a pleasing background blur. It also ensures that image quality doesn’t drop suddenly as you move between zoom levels. A multi-reflection system improves zoom, but it also complicates light handling. Each reflection point can introduce distortion or scattered light, which can affect the final image. Without proper control, this could lead to reduced sharpness and contrast. To overcome this, OPPO uses a refined optical design that keeps light under control throughout its path. By applying highly precise adjustments, the camera is less affected by light, ensuring image quality. It means that you can take better shots with high zoom levels. Camera The phone has a 200 MP resolution camera that delivers high-quality photos, a 3X zoom camera that is useful for shooting in low light, and an ultra-wide camera that captures a wider view. These elements combine to form an equilibrium system applicable to various situations. In cases where one is shooting portraits, scenery, or distant objects, the camera can do all that. Moreover, it features 4K Dolby Vision video recording capabilities, hence being suitable for photography and video recording. Software In this camera system, software plays a supporting role. The LUMO Image Engine focuses on refining the image rather than artificially generating details. Instead of using software to create details that do not exist in the image, the technology uses high-powered hardware to generate the main image. This helps create a more realistic image with natural details. Afterward, the software is used to enhance the final image through minor adjustments to colors and brightness. Software often plays a bigger role than the camera hardware itself. However, OPPO approaches this issue from a different angle, focusing more on hardware advancements. It results in more realistic and natural pictures. Also, there is better performance during long-range zoom operations. #OPPO #Find #Ultra #Camera #Details #Revealed #Ahead #India #LaunchOppo

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A multi-reflection system improves zoom, but it also complicates light handling. Each reflection point can introduce distortion or scattered light, which can affect the final image. Without proper control, this could lead to reduced sharpness and contrast.

To overcome this, OPPO uses a refined optical design that keeps light under control throughout its path. By applying highly precise adjustments, the camera is less affected by light, ensuring image quality. It means that you can take better shots with high zoom levels.

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The phone has a 200 MP resolution camera that delivers high-quality photos, a 3X zoom camera that is useful for shooting in low light, and an ultra-wide camera that captures a wider view.

These elements combine to form an equilibrium system applicable to various situations. In cases where one is shooting portraits, scenery, or distant objects, the camera can do all that. Moreover, it features 4K Dolby Vision video recording capabilities, hence being suitable for photography and video recording.

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launch, the OPPO Find X9 Ultra will soon be available in India, bringing some exciting changes to the device, specifically aimed at boosting its camera performance. The firm is shifting its focus to hardware to enhance optical zoom capabilities, rather than relying too heavily on software.

The star attraction is QPPS, a new periscope architecture that enhances the feasibility of extended-range optical zoom. In most smartphones, optical zoom is achieved using a single prism that deflects the light path horizontally. Although this design boosts zoom range, it is constrained by the space available in the phone body.

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OPPO Find X9 Ultra Camera Details Revealed Ahead of India Launch After a stellar Find X9 launch, the OPPO Find X9 Ultra will soon be available in India, bringing some exciting changes to the device, specifically aimed at boosting its camera performance. The firm is shifting its focus to hardware to enhance optical zoom capabilities, rather than relying too heavily on software. The star attraction is QPPS, a new periscope architecture that enhances the feasibility of extended-range optical zoom. In most smartphones, optical zoom is achieved using a single prism that deflects the light path horizontally. Although this design boosts zoom range, it is constrained by the space available in the phone body. What is QPPS? The QPPS (Quintuple Prism Periscope Structure) is designed to extend zoom using a smarter internal setup. In the camera body, the light reflects five times before hitting the sensor, thereby increasing the length of the optical pathway. Furthermore, the OPPO Find X9 Ultra can increase its focal length without compromising its thinness. The phone, therefore, can achieve true 10x optical zoom, equivalent to a 230mm lens. An additional benefit of optical zoom is its ability to maintain image quality. Since the zoom is handled by the camera hardware, there’s less need for cropping or digital enhancement. This leads to sharper and more natural images. In everyday use, it improves shots of distant subjects and creates a pleasing background blur. It also ensures that image quality doesn’t drop suddenly as you move between zoom levels. A multi-reflection system improves zoom, but it also complicates light handling. Each reflection point can introduce distortion or scattered light, which can affect the final image. Without proper control, this could lead to reduced sharpness and contrast. To overcome this, OPPO uses a refined optical design that keeps light under control throughout its path. By applying highly precise adjustments, the camera is less affected by light, ensuring image quality. It means that you can take better shots with high zoom levels. Camera The phone has a 200 MP resolution camera that delivers high-quality photos, a 3X zoom camera that is useful for shooting in low light, and an ultra-wide camera that captures a wider view. These elements combine to form an equilibrium system applicable to various situations. In cases where one is shooting portraits, scenery, or distant objects, the camera can do all that. Moreover, it features 4K Dolby Vision video recording capabilities, hence being suitable for photography and video recording. Software In this camera system, software plays a supporting role. The LUMO Image Engine focuses on refining the image rather than artificially generating details. Instead of using software to create details that do not exist in the image, the technology uses high-powered hardware to generate the main image. This helps create a more realistic image with natural details. Afterward, the software is used to enhance the final image through minor adjustments to colors and brightness. Software often plays a bigger role than the camera hardware itself. However, OPPO approaches this issue from a different angle, focusing more on hardware advancements. It results in more realistic and natural pictures. Also, there is better performance during long-range zoom operations. #OPPO #Find #Ultra #Camera #Details #Revealed #Ahead #India #LaunchOppo

The QPPS (Quintuple Prism Periscope Structure) is designed to extend zoom using a smarter internal setup. In the camera body, the light reflects five times before hitting the sensor, thereby increasing the length of the optical pathway. Furthermore, the OPPO Find X9 Ultra can increase its focal length without compromising its thinness. The phone, therefore, can achieve true 10x optical zoom, equivalent to a 230mm lens.

An additional benefit of optical zoom is its ability to maintain image quality. Since the zoom is handled by the camera hardware, there’s less need for cropping or digital enhancement. This leads to sharper and more natural images. In everyday use, it improves shots of distant subjects and creates a pleasing background blur. It also ensures that image quality doesn’t drop suddenly as you move between zoom levels.

A multi-reflection system improves zoom, but it also complicates light handling. Each reflection point can introduce distortion or scattered light, which can affect the final image. Without proper control, this could lead to reduced sharpness and contrast.

To overcome this, OPPO uses a refined optical design that keeps light under control throughout its path. By applying highly precise adjustments, the camera is less affected by light, ensuring image quality. It means that you can take better shots with high zoom levels.

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The phone has a 200 MP resolution camera that delivers high-quality photos, a 3X zoom camera that is useful for shooting in low light, and an ultra-wide camera that captures a wider view.

These elements combine to form an equilibrium system applicable to various situations. In cases where one is shooting portraits, scenery, or distant objects, the camera can do all that. Moreover, it features 4K Dolby Vision video recording capabilities, hence being suitable for photography and video recording.

Software

In this camera system, software plays a supporting role. The LUMO Image Engine focuses on refining the image rather than artificially generating details. Instead of using software to create details that do not exist in the image, the technology uses high-powered hardware to generate the main image. This helps create a more realistic image with natural details. Afterward, the software is used to enhance the final image through minor adjustments to colors and brightness.

Software often plays a bigger role than the camera hardware itself. However, OPPO approaches this issue from a different angle, focusing more on hardware advancements. It results in more realistic and natural pictures. Also, there is better performance during long-range zoom operations.

#OPPO #Find #Ultra #Camera #Details #Revealed #Ahead #India #LaunchOppo">OPPO Find X9 Ultra Camera Details Revealed Ahead of India Launch

After a stellar Find X9 launch, the OPPO Find X9 Ultra will soon be available in India, bringing some exciting changes to the device, specifically aimed at boosting its camera performance. The firm is shifting its focus to hardware to enhance optical zoom capabilities, rather than relying too heavily on software.

The star attraction is QPPS, a new periscope architecture that enhances the feasibility of extended-range optical zoom. In most smartphones, optical zoom is achieved using a single prism that deflects the light path horizontally. Although this design boosts zoom range, it is constrained by the space available in the phone body.

What is QPPS?

OPPO Find X9 Ultra Camera Details Revealed Ahead of India Launch After a stellar Find X9 launch, the OPPO Find X9 Ultra will soon be available in India, bringing some exciting changes to the device, specifically aimed at boosting its camera performance. The firm is shifting its focus to hardware to enhance optical zoom capabilities, rather than relying too heavily on software. The star attraction is QPPS, a new periscope architecture that enhances the feasibility of extended-range optical zoom. In most smartphones, optical zoom is achieved using a single prism that deflects the light path horizontally. Although this design boosts zoom range, it is constrained by the space available in the phone body. What is QPPS? The QPPS (Quintuple Prism Periscope Structure) is designed to extend zoom using a smarter internal setup. In the camera body, the light reflects five times before hitting the sensor, thereby increasing the length of the optical pathway. Furthermore, the OPPO Find X9 Ultra can increase its focal length without compromising its thinness. The phone, therefore, can achieve true 10x optical zoom, equivalent to a 230mm lens. An additional benefit of optical zoom is its ability to maintain image quality. Since the zoom is handled by the camera hardware, there’s less need for cropping or digital enhancement. This leads to sharper and more natural images. In everyday use, it improves shots of distant subjects and creates a pleasing background blur. It also ensures that image quality doesn’t drop suddenly as you move between zoom levels. A multi-reflection system improves zoom, but it also complicates light handling. Each reflection point can introduce distortion or scattered light, which can affect the final image. Without proper control, this could lead to reduced sharpness and contrast. To overcome this, OPPO uses a refined optical design that keeps light under control throughout its path. By applying highly precise adjustments, the camera is less affected by light, ensuring image quality. It means that you can take better shots with high zoom levels. Camera The phone has a 200 MP resolution camera that delivers high-quality photos, a 3X zoom camera that is useful for shooting in low light, and an ultra-wide camera that captures a wider view. These elements combine to form an equilibrium system applicable to various situations. In cases where one is shooting portraits, scenery, or distant objects, the camera can do all that. Moreover, it features 4K Dolby Vision video recording capabilities, hence being suitable for photography and video recording. Software In this camera system, software plays a supporting role. The LUMO Image Engine focuses on refining the image rather than artificially generating details. Instead of using software to create details that do not exist in the image, the technology uses high-powered hardware to generate the main image. This helps create a more realistic image with natural details. Afterward, the software is used to enhance the final image through minor adjustments to colors and brightness. Software often plays a bigger role than the camera hardware itself. However, OPPO approaches this issue from a different angle, focusing more on hardware advancements. It results in more realistic and natural pictures. Also, there is better performance during long-range zoom operations. #OPPO #Find #Ultra #Camera #Details #Revealed #Ahead #India #LaunchOppo

The QPPS (Quintuple Prism Periscope Structure) is designed to extend zoom using a smarter internal setup. In the camera body, the light reflects five times before hitting the sensor, thereby increasing the length of the optical pathway. Furthermore, the OPPO Find X9 Ultra can increase its focal length without compromising its thinness. The phone, therefore, can achieve true 10x optical zoom, equivalent to a 230mm lens.

An additional benefit of optical zoom is its ability to maintain image quality. Since the zoom is handled by the camera hardware, there’s less need for cropping or digital enhancement. This leads to sharper and more natural images. In everyday use, it improves shots of distant subjects and creates a pleasing background blur. It also ensures that image quality doesn’t drop suddenly as you move between zoom levels.

A multi-reflection system improves zoom, but it also complicates light handling. Each reflection point can introduce distortion or scattered light, which can affect the final image. Without proper control, this could lead to reduced sharpness and contrast.

To overcome this, OPPO uses a refined optical design that keeps light under control throughout its path. By applying highly precise adjustments, the camera is less affected by light, ensuring image quality. It means that you can take better shots with high zoom levels.

Camera

Hasselblad Imaging System

The phone has a 200 MP resolution camera that delivers high-quality photos, a 3X zoom camera that is useful for shooting in low light, and an ultra-wide camera that captures a wider view.

These elements combine to form an equilibrium system applicable to various situations. In cases where one is shooting portraits, scenery, or distant objects, the camera can do all that. Moreover, it features 4K Dolby Vision video recording capabilities, hence being suitable for photography and video recording.

Software

In this camera system, software plays a supporting role. The LUMO Image Engine focuses on refining the image rather than artificially generating details. Instead of using software to create details that do not exist in the image, the technology uses high-powered hardware to generate the main image. This helps create a more realistic image with natural details. Afterward, the software is used to enhance the final image through minor adjustments to colors and brightness.

Software often plays a bigger role than the camera hardware itself. However, OPPO approaches this issue from a different angle, focusing more on hardware advancements. It results in more realistic and natural pictures. Also, there is better performance during long-range zoom operations.

#OPPO #Find #Ultra #Camera #Details #Revealed #Ahead #India #LaunchOppo

The original mysterious black box wasn’t an AI model at all, but the Kaaba, the black cube at the center of the Sacred Mosque of Mecca. Prior to Muhammad’s conquest of Mecca, the Kaaba was a sort of all-purpose repository of 360 sacred symbols from around the region. If you were, say, a busy merchant on his way to Medina, whatever the great spiritual truths of the universe may be, they were in there somewhere, so a prayer to the Kaaba had you covered in the god department and you were good to go.

Anthropic seems to be doing something along these lines with Claude.

Last week, representatives from Anthropic—along with OpenAI—attended an event in New York called the “Faith-AI Covenant” roundtable. The New York Board of Rabbis, the Hindu Temple Society of North America, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the U.S.-based Sikh Coalition, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America were all in attendance.

Last month, I wrote about a series of meetings and dinners Anthropic organized with a collection of 15 Christian leaders. Anthropic was looking for advice from the Christians, and guidance on the supposed “spiritual development” of its Claude AI model. At the time Anthropic said it was working on arranging meetings with moral thinkers who represented other groups.

It’s not clear from a fresh Associated Press piece about the Faith-AI Covenant meeting whether these latest conversations with religious leaders and the earlier meetings with Christians were part of a single coherent program at Anthropic, and whether the staff members who participated in the Christian summit participated in this one as well. Gizmodo asked Anthropic for clarity about this on Saturday, but Anthropic did not return our request as of this writing.

The Associated Press also says OpenAI and Anthropic “initiated outreach,” but also that a Swiss NGO called the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities organized it, and has plans for future events along similar lines in China, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates. Also mentioned as a “key partner” was Baroness Joanna Shields, a member of the British House of Lords.

There’s not a single clear takeaway in the AP story—no religious instructions laid out by all these spiritual leaders. But what Anthropic calls Claude’s constitution includes a dissection of the philosophically fraught moral work Anthropic is at least trying to do by injecting morals into a machine: getting it to make the decision of a person with perfect values when there’s no way to write a rule for a situation that arises, and the consequences of making the wrong decision could be dire. This, Anthropic writes, is “centrally because we worry that our efforts to give Claude good enough ethical values will fail.”

To this end, the Associated Press story extracts some quietly devastating commentary from Rumman Chowdhury, CEO of a nonprofit called Humane Intelligence: “I think a very naive take that Silicon Valley has had for a couple of years related to generative AI was that we could arrive at some sort of universal principles of ethics,” Chowdhury told the AP, adding, “They have very quickly realized that that’s just not true. That’s not real. So now they’re looking at maybe religion as a way of dealing with the ambiguity of ethically gray situations.”

They are indeed looking at maybe religion. But it’s hard to picture Anthropic coming away from these meetings converted, and inserting one set of specific religious doctrines into Claude. They’re just trying to glean high order ethical truths, and demonstrating to the world that they’ve—ostensibly—left no stone unturned in searching for them.

Your mileage will vary on whether you think a machine charged with making decisions or giving important advice would, when the chips are down, be able to synthesize ideal morals thanks to meetings its creators held with administrators from some of humanity’s premier religions. It probably can’t hurt, sorta like nodding at the pre-Islamic Kaaba. But then again, only God knows for sure.

#Anthropic #Added #Religions #Quest #Inject #Perfect #Morals #ClaudeArtificial intelligence,religion">Anthropic Has Added Several More Religions on Its Quest to Inject Perfect Morals into Claude The original mysterious black box wasn’t an AI model at all, but the Kaaba, the black cube at the center of the Sacred Mosque of Mecca. Prior to Muhammad’s conquest of Mecca, the Kaaba was a sort of all-purpose repository of 360 sacred symbols from around the region. If you were, say, a busy merchant on his way to Medina, whatever the great spiritual truths of the universe may be, they were in there somewhere, so a prayer to the Kaaba had you covered in the god department and you were good to go. Anthropic seems to be doing something along these lines with Claude. Last week, representatives from Anthropic—along with OpenAI—attended an event in New York called the “Faith-AI Covenant” roundtable. The New York Board of Rabbis, the Hindu Temple Society of North America, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the U.S.-based Sikh Coalition, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America were all in attendance. Last month, I wrote about a series of meetings and dinners Anthropic organized with a collection of 15 Christian leaders. Anthropic was looking for advice from the Christians, and guidance on the supposed “spiritual development” of its Claude AI model. At the time Anthropic said it was working on arranging meetings with moral thinkers who represented other groups. It’s not clear from a fresh Associated Press piece about the Faith-AI Covenant meeting whether these latest conversations with religious leaders and the earlier meetings with Christians were part of a single coherent program at Anthropic, and whether the staff members who participated in the Christian summit participated in this one as well. Gizmodo asked Anthropic for clarity about this on Saturday, but Anthropic did not return our request as of this writing. The Associated Press also says OpenAI and Anthropic “initiated outreach,” but also that a Swiss NGO called the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities organized it, and has plans for future events along similar lines in China, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates. Also mentioned as a “key partner” was Baroness Joanna Shields, a member of the British House of Lords. There’s not a single clear takeaway in the AP story—no religious instructions laid out by all these spiritual leaders. But what Anthropic calls Claude’s constitution includes a dissection of the philosophically fraught moral work Anthropic is at least trying to do by injecting morals into a machine: getting it to make the decision of a person with perfect values when there’s no way to write a rule for a situation that arises, and the consequences of making the wrong decision could be dire. This, Anthropic writes, is “centrally because we worry that our efforts to give Claude good enough ethical values will fail.” To this end, the Associated Press story extracts some quietly devastating commentary from Rumman Chowdhury, CEO of a nonprofit called Humane Intelligence: “I think a very naive take that Silicon Valley has had for a couple of years related to generative AI was that we could arrive at some sort of universal principles of ethics,” Chowdhury told the AP, adding, “They have very quickly realized that that’s just not true. That’s not real. So now they’re looking at maybe religion as a way of dealing with the ambiguity of ethically gray situations.” They are indeed looking at maybe religion. But it’s hard to picture Anthropic coming away from these meetings converted, and inserting one set of specific religious doctrines into Claude. They’re just trying to glean high order ethical truths, and demonstrating to the world that they’ve—ostensibly—left no stone unturned in searching for them. Your mileage will vary on whether you think a machine charged with making decisions or giving important advice would, when the chips are down, be able to synthesize ideal morals thanks to meetings its creators held with administrators from some of humanity’s premier religions. It probably can’t hurt, sorta like nodding at the pre-Islamic Kaaba. But then again, only God knows for sure. #Anthropic #Added #Religions #Quest #Inject #Perfect #Morals #ClaudeArtificial intelligence,religion

was a sort of all-purpose repository of 360 sacred symbols from around the region. If you were, say, a busy merchant on his way to Medina, whatever the great spiritual truths of the universe may be, they were in there somewhere, so a prayer to the Kaaba had you covered in the god department and you were good to go.

Anthropic seems to be doing something along these lines with Claude.

Last week, representatives from Anthropic—along with OpenAI—attended an event in New York called the “Faith-AI Covenant” roundtable. The New York Board of Rabbis, the Hindu Temple Society of North America, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the U.S.-based Sikh Coalition, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America were all in attendance.

Last month, I wrote about a series of meetings and dinners Anthropic organized with a collection of 15 Christian leaders. Anthropic was looking for advice from the Christians, and guidance on the supposed “spiritual development” of its Claude AI model. At the time Anthropic said it was working on arranging meetings with moral thinkers who represented other groups.

It’s not clear from a fresh Associated Press piece about the Faith-AI Covenant meeting whether these latest conversations with religious leaders and the earlier meetings with Christians were part of a single coherent program at Anthropic, and whether the staff members who participated in the Christian summit participated in this one as well. Gizmodo asked Anthropic for clarity about this on Saturday, but Anthropic did not return our request as of this writing.

The Associated Press also says OpenAI and Anthropic “initiated outreach,” but also that a Swiss NGO called the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities organized it, and has plans for future events along similar lines in China, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates. Also mentioned as a “key partner” was Baroness Joanna Shields, a member of the British House of Lords.

There’s not a single clear takeaway in the AP story—no religious instructions laid out by all these spiritual leaders. But what Anthropic calls Claude’s constitution includes a dissection of the philosophically fraught moral work Anthropic is at least trying to do by injecting morals into a machine: getting it to make the decision of a person with perfect values when there’s no way to write a rule for a situation that arises, and the consequences of making the wrong decision could be dire. This, Anthropic writes, is “centrally because we worry that our efforts to give Claude good enough ethical values will fail.”

To this end, the Associated Press story extracts some quietly devastating commentary from Rumman Chowdhury, CEO of a nonprofit called Humane Intelligence: “I think a very naive take that Silicon Valley has had for a couple of years related to generative AI was that we could arrive at some sort of universal principles of ethics,” Chowdhury told the AP, adding, “They have very quickly realized that that’s just not true. That’s not real. So now they’re looking at maybe religion as a way of dealing with the ambiguity of ethically gray situations.”

They are indeed looking at maybe religion. But it’s hard to picture Anthropic coming away from these meetings converted, and inserting one set of specific religious doctrines into Claude. They’re just trying to glean high order ethical truths, and demonstrating to the world that they’ve—ostensibly—left no stone unturned in searching for them.

Your mileage will vary on whether you think a machine charged with making decisions or giving important advice would, when the chips are down, be able to synthesize ideal morals thanks to meetings its creators held with administrators from some of humanity’s premier religions. It probably can’t hurt, sorta like nodding at the pre-Islamic Kaaba. But then again, only God knows for sure.

#Anthropic #Added #Religions #Quest #Inject #Perfect #Morals #ClaudeArtificial intelligence,religion">Anthropic Has Added Several More Religions on Its Quest to Inject Perfect Morals into ClaudeAnthropic Has Added Several More Religions on Its Quest to Inject Perfect Morals into Claude The original mysterious black box wasn’t an AI model at all, but the Kaaba, the black cube at the center of the Sacred Mosque of Mecca. Prior to Muhammad’s conquest of Mecca, the Kaaba was a sort of all-purpose repository of 360 sacred symbols from around the region. If you were, say, a busy merchant on his way to Medina, whatever the great spiritual truths of the universe may be, they were in there somewhere, so a prayer to the Kaaba had you covered in the god department and you were good to go. Anthropic seems to be doing something along these lines with Claude. Last week, representatives from Anthropic—along with OpenAI—attended an event in New York called the “Faith-AI Covenant” roundtable. The New York Board of Rabbis, the Hindu Temple Society of North America, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the U.S.-based Sikh Coalition, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America were all in attendance. Last month, I wrote about a series of meetings and dinners Anthropic organized with a collection of 15 Christian leaders. Anthropic was looking for advice from the Christians, and guidance on the supposed “spiritual development” of its Claude AI model. At the time Anthropic said it was working on arranging meetings with moral thinkers who represented other groups. It’s not clear from a fresh Associated Press piece about the Faith-AI Covenant meeting whether these latest conversations with religious leaders and the earlier meetings with Christians were part of a single coherent program at Anthropic, and whether the staff members who participated in the Christian summit participated in this one as well. Gizmodo asked Anthropic for clarity about this on Saturday, but Anthropic did not return our request as of this writing. The Associated Press also says OpenAI and Anthropic “initiated outreach,” but also that a Swiss NGO called the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities organized it, and has plans for future events along similar lines in China, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates. Also mentioned as a “key partner” was Baroness Joanna Shields, a member of the British House of Lords. There’s not a single clear takeaway in the AP story—no religious instructions laid out by all these spiritual leaders. But what Anthropic calls Claude’s constitution includes a dissection of the philosophically fraught moral work Anthropic is at least trying to do by injecting morals into a machine: getting it to make the decision of a person with perfect values when there’s no way to write a rule for a situation that arises, and the consequences of making the wrong decision could be dire. This, Anthropic writes, is “centrally because we worry that our efforts to give Claude good enough ethical values will fail.” To this end, the Associated Press story extracts some quietly devastating commentary from Rumman Chowdhury, CEO of a nonprofit called Humane Intelligence: “I think a very naive take that Silicon Valley has had for a couple of years related to generative AI was that we could arrive at some sort of universal principles of ethics,” Chowdhury told the AP, adding, “They have very quickly realized that that’s just not true. That’s not real. So now they’re looking at maybe religion as a way of dealing with the ambiguity of ethically gray situations.” They are indeed looking at maybe religion. But it’s hard to picture Anthropic coming away from these meetings converted, and inserting one set of specific religious doctrines into Claude. They’re just trying to glean high order ethical truths, and demonstrating to the world that they’ve—ostensibly—left no stone unturned in searching for them. Your mileage will vary on whether you think a machine charged with making decisions or giving important advice would, when the chips are down, be able to synthesize ideal morals thanks to meetings its creators held with administrators from some of humanity’s premier religions. It probably can’t hurt, sorta like nodding at the pre-Islamic Kaaba. But then again, only God knows for sure. #Anthropic #Added #Religions #Quest #Inject #Perfect #Morals #ClaudeArtificial intelligence,religion

The original mysterious black box wasn’t an AI model at all, but the Kaaba, the black cube at the center of the Sacred Mosque of Mecca. Prior to Muhammad’s conquest of Mecca, the Kaaba was a sort of all-purpose repository of 360 sacred symbols from around the region. If you were, say, a busy merchant on his way to Medina, whatever the great spiritual truths of the universe may be, they were in there somewhere, so a prayer to the Kaaba had you covered in the god department and you were good to go.

Anthropic seems to be doing something along these lines with Claude.

Last week, representatives from Anthropic—along with OpenAI—attended an event in New York called the “Faith-AI Covenant” roundtable. The New York Board of Rabbis, the Hindu Temple Society of North America, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the U.S.-based Sikh Coalition, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America were all in attendance.

Last month, I wrote about a series of meetings and dinners Anthropic organized with a collection of 15 Christian leaders. Anthropic was looking for advice from the Christians, and guidance on the supposed “spiritual development” of its Claude AI model. At the time Anthropic said it was working on arranging meetings with moral thinkers who represented other groups.

It’s not clear from a fresh Associated Press piece about the Faith-AI Covenant meeting whether these latest conversations with religious leaders and the earlier meetings with Christians were part of a single coherent program at Anthropic, and whether the staff members who participated in the Christian summit participated in this one as well. Gizmodo asked Anthropic for clarity about this on Saturday, but Anthropic did not return our request as of this writing.

The Associated Press also says OpenAI and Anthropic “initiated outreach,” but also that a Swiss NGO called the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities organized it, and has plans for future events along similar lines in China, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates. Also mentioned as a “key partner” was Baroness Joanna Shields, a member of the British House of Lords.

There’s not a single clear takeaway in the AP story—no religious instructions laid out by all these spiritual leaders. But what Anthropic calls Claude’s constitution includes a dissection of the philosophically fraught moral work Anthropic is at least trying to do by injecting morals into a machine: getting it to make the decision of a person with perfect values when there’s no way to write a rule for a situation that arises, and the consequences of making the wrong decision could be dire. This, Anthropic writes, is “centrally because we worry that our efforts to give Claude good enough ethical values will fail.”

To this end, the Associated Press story extracts some quietly devastating commentary from Rumman Chowdhury, CEO of a nonprofit called Humane Intelligence: “I think a very naive take that Silicon Valley has had for a couple of years related to generative AI was that we could arrive at some sort of universal principles of ethics,” Chowdhury told the AP, adding, “They have very quickly realized that that’s just not true. That’s not real. So now they’re looking at maybe religion as a way of dealing with the ambiguity of ethically gray situations.”

They are indeed looking at maybe religion. But it’s hard to picture Anthropic coming away from these meetings converted, and inserting one set of specific religious doctrines into Claude. They’re just trying to glean high order ethical truths, and demonstrating to the world that they’ve—ostensibly—left no stone unturned in searching for them.

Your mileage will vary on whether you think a machine charged with making decisions or giving important advice would, when the chips are down, be able to synthesize ideal morals thanks to meetings its creators held with administrators from some of humanity’s premier religions. It probably can’t hurt, sorta like nodding at the pre-Islamic Kaaba. But then again, only God knows for sure.

#Anthropic #Added #Religions #Quest #Inject #Perfect #Morals #ClaudeArtificial intelligence,religion

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