> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.philsimon.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Why I'm All In on Claude - URL: https://www.philsimon.com/why-im-all-in-on-claude/ - Published: 2025-12-19T11:58:55.000Z - Updated: 2026-01-06T12:11:57.000Z - Description: In my last post of the year, I make the case for backing this horse in the AI race. - Author: Phil Simon - Tags: AI, Claude, Admin, Apple, ChatGPT, Citizen Development, LinkedIn, Ethics, Carnegie Mellon, Facebook/Meta, Faves, Google, Microsoft, Notion In more than three decades around enterprise tech, nothing resembles the current AI wave. Its pace of change has far surpassed the other shiny new toys I've seen in my lifetime: the early web, social networks, and mobile apps.[1](#fn:1) Best-of-breed tools pop up every day. Dedicated and popular newsletters like [WonderTools](https://wondertools.substack.com/) cover dozens of them every month. There's no shortage of powerful large language models powering intuitive AI chatbots. Increasingly, though, I've been gravitating towards one. In this post, I'll explain why. ![man in white collared shirt wearing eyeglasses](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1630419320857-7087d18ade31?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3wxMTc3M3wwfDF8c2VhcmNofDl8fGdhbmRoaXxlbnwwfHx8fDE3NjcyMTMxODF8MA&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=2000) Photo by [Brijender Dua](https://unsplash.com/@bridgeofnoon?ref=philsimon.com) / [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/?utm%5Fsource=ghost&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcampaign=api-credit) ## Innovation Last July, I wrote about the genAI tool that was [blowing my mind](https://www.philsimon.com/the-generative-ai-tool-thats-blowing-my-mind/). Anthropic didn't only [invent the concept](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model%5FContext%5FProtocol?ref=philsimon.com) of model context protocols; the company released it as an [open-source](https://www.racketpublishing.com/blog/better-way-to-research-podcasts/?ref=philsimon.com) project. To paraphrase Gandhi, actions express priorities. It's obvious that Anthropic doesn't just value making a buck. ## Utility [Custom GPTs](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8554397-creating-a-gpt?ref=philsimon.com) aren't exactly news. Google recently dropped [Gems](https://gemini.google/overview/gems/?ref=philsimon.com)—its version of bespoke AI apps. For its part, Claude allows customers to [create custom Skills](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12512198-how-to-create-custom-skills?ref=philsimon.com). In a word, they are *sick*. Just in the past week, I've created ten incredibly useful ones for [my publishing outfit](https://www.racketpublishing.com/blog/?ref=philsimon.com) alone. Needless to say, many (most?) of these are far too esoteric for proper software developers to build them. And then there's Racket Publishing's LinkedIn profile evaluator: [LinkedIn Profile EvaluatorThe professional social network is rife with scammers targeting writers. This new subscriber benefit helps scribes separate the wheat from the chaff.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/icon/newball-1-2.png)Racket PublishingPhil Simon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/thumbnail/LI.png)](https://www.racketpublishing.com/blog/linkedin-profile-evaluator/?ref=philsimon.com) It takes zero technical skill to create and publish niche Claude Artifacts, such as [spam detectors](https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/17b9a14f-37ac-4209-9d6b-35190f5e0499?ref=philsimon.com). ([Citizen developers](https://www.philsimon.com/the-case-for-mundane-ai/) rejoice.) > The adage “Garbage in, garbage out” hasn't changed one bit. I'll continue geeking out on Skills and Artifacts in 2026\. You can take the kid out of Carnegie Mellon… ## Effectiveness No AI tool bats 1.000\. The fleas come with the dog in the form of [hallucinations](https://www.philsimon.com/equal-opportunity-hallucinator/). Despite my 1,200 or so chats with Claude in the past year or so, though, it has erred very few times. (I'll put that number at about two percent.) Of course, that hit rate may stem from the quality of my prompts. The adage “Garbage in, garbage out” hasn't changed one bit. Brass tacks: If Claude erred 10 percent of the time, I'd find another AI chatbot. ## Safety and Responsibility Some companies pay lip service to the very real dangers AI poses to society, employment, truth, and politics. (You know, little things.) By contrast, Anthropic seems to take these existential issues far more seriously than OpenAI, [X](https://www.npr.org/2025/07/09/nx-s1-5462609/grok-elon-musk-antisemitic-racist-content?ref=philsimon.com), and other behemoths. Exhibit A: Critical public service announcements such as these. Forget just releasing professional videos. The company [worked closely with *The Wall Street Journal*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpPhm7S9vsQ&ref=philsimon.com) to see how unsupervised AI would do in the real world. ## Design I won't mince words here: Claude is a freaking joy to use. Its minimalist design aesthetic reminds me of Notion and Apple. (To be fair, Gemini, [Copilot](https://copilot.microsoft.com/?ref=philsimon.com), Perplexity, and their ilk sport equally spartan user interfaces.) --- You may read my rationales and guffaw. Let's say that the major AI chatbots essentially offer [feature parity](https://martinfowler.com/articles/patterns-legacy-displacement/feature-parity.html?ref=philsimon.com). That is, most product features are nearly identical (or will be soon). Does any attribute *really* distinguish Anthropic from its competitors? The answer is *yes*. ## Sign up for Simon Says Weekly insights on AI, workplace tech, and more. SUBSCRIBE Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ## Ethics, Hypocrisy, and the Right Side of History Many AI companies are attempting to make the case that [their blatant theft of pirated books is perfectly legal](https://sites.usc.edu/iptls/2025/02/04/ai-copyright-and-the-law-the-ongoing-battle-over-intellectual-property-rights/?ref=philsimon.com). They are bastardizing the very notion of the [Fair Use Doctrine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair%5Fuse?ref=philsimon.com). Of course, they sing a far different tune when [tech companies steal *their* intellectual property](https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/openai-says-deepseek-may-inapproriately-used-data-rcna189872?ref=philsimon.com). (If this sounds hypocritical, trust your judgment.) Not Anthropic. Its [settlement with authors and publishers](https://www.npr.org/2025/09/05/nx-s1-5529404/anthropic-settlement-authors-copyright-ai?ref=philsimon.com) is nothing short of trailblazing. At some point in the near future, Anthropic will remit me thousands of dollars. The company used some of my books to train its models—[as well as those of many others](https://authorsguild.org/news/anthropic-settlement-search-works-list-and-file-a-claim/?ref=philsimon.com). Exhibit B: The Trump administration has proposed [a dangerous *laissez-faire* approach to AI regulation](https://www.gibsondunn.com/president-trump-latest-executive-order-on-ai-seeks-to-preempt-state-laws/?ref=philsimon.com). Rather than fall in line, Anthropic exes are fighting for [more responsible government oversight](https://www.axios.com/2025/10/16/anthropic-david-sacks-ai-white-house?ref=philsimon.com). That willingness puts the company on the right side of history, and it should mean something to anyone with a modicum of common sense. [AI Giveth and Taketh AwayI’ve seen oodles of statistics on AI this year, but one about productivity stands out.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/icon/newlogo-2-181.png)Phil SimonPhil Simon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/thumbnail/robots.jpeg)](https://www.philsimon.com/ai-giveth-and-taketh-away/) ## The Bottom Line I'm not completely monogamous. I still play with other AI tools—and you should, too. Google's image-generation capability is [amazing](https://gemini.google/overview/image-generation/?ref=philsimon.com). (See the featured image above.) NotionAI is certainly helpful, especially when it's not [forgetting what its underlying product can do](https://www.philsimon.com/ai-product-feature-amnesia/). For the foreseeable future, though, Claude is my AI go-to. I'd rather give my money to ethical companies. #### Footnotes 1. No, the [900-user metaverse](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/the-metaverse-only-has-900-users/vi-AA1S5w2l?ref=philsimon.com) doesn't count. Not even close. Can someone say **all hat, no cattle*? Twenty bucks says that Zuck would love to take a mulligan on his [ill-advised 2021 Meta rebrand](https://about.fb.com/news/2021/10/facebook-company-is-now-meta/?ref=philsimon.com).