Anthropic updates Claude policy, may ‘ban’ users who are abusive or cruel to its AI

AI giant Anthropic has implemented updates to its acceptable usage policy for the first time in over a year. The changes announced aim to establish strict guardrails against emerging threats such as weaponization, illicit surveillance, and election manipulation, while introducing a unique provision that shields its AI model Claude, from user cruelty.The most unconventional addition explicitly prohibits "sustained and needless abusive or cruel behavior" directed at the AI model itself. Building on an initiative announced last August that permitted Claude to sever interactions with persistently abusive individuals as part of ongoing "model welfare" research. The company confirmed that conversation termination remains its primary remedy.