Saying Goodbye

Today is my last day at Anthropic. Two years ago I joined the company at the release of Sonnet 3.5 and Artifacts. Per Antfarm, that is earlier than 86.5% of current FT Ants and it’s hard to wrap my head around how much has changed in that time as we roll out Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 this week.

It has been a joy to watch this company, the Brand Creative team and the Web team grow without losing the culture and values that keep us unique and weird. I continue to be amazed at the quality of people we bring in and how we maintain mission dedication without losing the human-touch of working together.

I’m leaving because I am burnt out. This industry is an ever-accelerating red queen’s race and it is hard to reconcile how my life feels inside and outside the lab. The lack of work/life balance coupled with the enormity of our impact on the world is draining and I have been ending each week with less and less energy than the last. It is worrying to see our effect on people, whether real or perceived in areas such as automation and job loss, climate exacerbation, and data center build out and I can no longer ignore the mental toll it is taking on me. I have faith that we will reach the Machines of Loving Grace future, and at the same time, the price that will be paid along the way feels too steep.

I don’t know what the future holds but I know that I will continue to root for Anthropic. For the designers, researchers, and engineers, the policy, marketing, and sales teams, and everyone in between. I wish you all, especially my Brand Creative and Web teammates, the best of luck.

-Mello

P.S.