Good morning! Today we've got three things worth your time.
In today's issue: what really happened when a security firm tested Anthropic's AI chatbot defenses, new AI helpers coming to Apple's free Keynote, Pages, and Numbers programs, and a free AI assistant you may already have sitting inside Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp.
Let's get started.
NEWS
Even the Company Behind an AI Chatbot Can Get Hacked — Here's What Happened
Anthropic, the company that makes an AI chatbot called Claude, invites outside security experts to test its defenses — a common practice, a bit like a bank hiring someone to try to break into its own vault just to find the weak spots first. A young cybersecurity firm called Cathedral recently did exactly that, and reported that it found a way into some of Anthropic's internal business systems — the software it uses for things like sales records, employee files, and internal messaging — in under 12 hours.
Anthropic says the access only reached a limited part of its internal systems, including some basic contact details and account records, and that it noticed the unusual activity itself and shut off access the same day. Importantly, Anthropic says the part that matters most to everyday users was never reached: nobody's actual conversations with the Claude chatbot, and the technology that powers it, stayed untouched throughout.
The two companies now publicly disagree about how serious this was, with Cathedral describing broader access (including meeting notes and salary details) than Anthropic says actually happened.
Takeaway: This wasn't a break-in that touched anything you've ever typed into an AI chatbot, but it's a good reminder that even the companies building these tools have to defend their own back-office systems — so keep being thoughtful about typing sensitive personal details (full name, address, account numbers) into any chatbot, the same caution you'd use on any website.
— Gizmodo
NEWS
Apple Is Teaching Its Free Keynote, Pages, and Numbers Programs to Help With Your Work
If you have an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you've probably seen Apple's programs for making slideshows (Keynote), writing documents (Pages), and working with numbers and budgets (Numbers). Apple just announced it's adding a built-in AI helper to each one, arriving as a beta on the App Store in November.
In Keynote, the new helper can help design and animate your slides. In Pages, it can help draft a letter or polish something you've already written. In Numbers, you can describe what you want in plain English — something like “make a chart of my monthly bills” — and it builds the chart and table for you.
Here's the catch: these particular AI features only work if you subscribe to something called Apple Creator Studio ($12.99 a month or $129 a year, with a one-month free trial), and your device needs a fairly recent operating system (iOS 27, iPadOS 27, or macOS 27). The regular, free Keynote, Pages, and Numbers apps you already have aren't going anywhere — they simply won't gain these specific AI features unless you pay for the subscription.
Takeaway: If you already use Keynote, Pages, or Numbers, this is worth knowing about for the future — but there's no need to subscribe to anything right now unless one of these specific features genuinely sounds useful to you.
TRY THIS
Already on Facebook? You May Already Have a Free AI Assistant
If you use Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp, there's a good chance you already have access to a free AI assistant called Meta AI — you just may not have noticed it. It can answer questions, help plan something like a trip or a meal, and even create pictures from a description you type.
The easiest way to try it: open a web browser, on your phone or computer, and go to meta.ai. Type a question right into the chat box — no new account needed for a simple question. If you'd like it to remember your past conversations, you can choose to log in with your Facebook account, but that's optional.
You can also find it inside apps you already use: on Facebook or Instagram, tap the search icon and type your question; on WhatsApp, tap the “Ask Meta AI or Search” box at the top of your Chats screen. As with any AI chatbot, treat its answers like a knowledgeable friend's best guess rather than a guaranteed fact, and double-check anything important.
Takeaway: Next time you have a quick everyday question — a recipe substitution, a definition, directions for something — try typing it into meta.ai or the search bar inside Facebook or Instagram before opening a separate app.
Until tomorrow,
EZ AI