Claude Is Melting Down. AI’s Compute Crisis Explained. (29 min)

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• Release date: 2026-04-15
• Listen on Spotify: Open episode
• Episode description:

  The AI compute crisis is here. Anthropic's Claude is getting dumber and Opus 4.7 & OpenAI's Spud are about to make it worse. What happen's next? This week on AI For Humans, we dig into the AI compute crunch that's quietly becoming the industry's biggest problem. The Wall Street Journal just ran a cover story about AI using so much energy that computing power is running out. Claude users are noticing the model getting worse, and an AMD Senior AI Director confirmed. AI pundits are asking whether Anthropic's reluctance to release Mythos is really about safety or about not having enough compute.  Meanwhile, Opus 4.7 is reportedly coming next week, rumors are swirling about a new OpenAI model dropping any day, and Uber already blew through its entire annual AI coding budget. Anthropic just signed a deal with Google and Broadcom for more compute. Greg Brockman published an essay on the computer-powered economy.  Plus, Google DeepMind drops Gemini Robotics Reasoning Model ER-1.6, Steven Soderbergh comes to the defense of AI filmmaking, Diplo says you can't fight AI and the internet has opinions, and Ray Kurzweil says we'll soon just accept AIs as conscious because it'll be useless not to. AI IS RUNNING OUT OF POWER. CLAUDE IS GETTING DUMBER. WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Come to our Discord: https://discord.gg/muD2TYgC8f Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AIForHumansShow AI For Humans Newsletter: https://aiforhumans.beehiiv.com/ Follow us for more on X @AIForHumansShow Join our TikTok @aiforhumansshow To book us for speaking, please visit our website: https://www.aiforhumans.show/   // Show Links // WSJ Cover Story: AI Is Using So Much Energy That Computing Power Is Running Out  https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-is-using-so-much-energy-that-computing-firepower-is-running-out-156e5c85 Data on Claude Getting Dumber: AMD Senior AI Director Confirms Nerfing https://x.com/Hesamation/status/2042979500103815306?s=20 Opus 4.7 Coming Next Week (The Information)  https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/exclusive-anthropic-preps-opus-4-7-model-ai-design-tool?rc=c3oojq Anthropic's Compute Crunch (The Information)  https://www.theinformation.com/newsletters/ai-agenda/anthropics-compute-crunch-strikes?rc=c3oojq Claude Code Routines https://x.com/claudeai/status/2044095086460309790?s=20 New Claude Code Desktop App https://x.com/felixrieseberg/status/2044128194647994585?s=20 Uber Blew Through AI Coding Budgets for the Year Already  https://www.theinformation.com/newsletters/applied-ai/uber-cto-shows-claude-code-can-blow-ai-budgets?rc=c3oojq Greg Brockman Essay on the Computer-Powered Economy https://x.com/gdb/status/2043831031468568734 OpenAI's Reckless Spending and Datacenter Cancellations https://x.com/firstadopter/status/2043009456103993426?s=20 Ray Kurzweil on AI Consciousness https://x.com/newstart_2024/status/2043716604442128460?s=20 Gemini Robotics ER-1.6 Blog Post https://deepmind.google/blog/gemini-robotics-er-1-6/ Steven Soderbergh Defends AI Filmmaking  https://variety.com/2026/film/news/steven-soderbergh-the-christophers-star-wars-ben-solo-movie-controversial-ai-comments-1236713201/ Diplo: You Can't Fight AI https://youtu.be/zFVpJFFN3dI?si=C6_0MxmNzSHCdrds PI Hard: Fun AI Video https://x.com/aiordieshow/status/2044044721459265557?s=20

Summary

• ⚡ Compute Crunch Hits Hard: AI models like Claude are slowing down due to resource rationing for upcoming giants like Mythos, making daily use frustrating and highlighting infrastructure bottlenecks.
• 💰 Tiered AI Access Looms: As compute demands skyrocket, expect premium tiers costing thousands for top performance, widening the gap between casual users and enterprises in the AI economy.
• 🤖 Robots Get Smarter Reasoning: Google’s new model empowers robots with spatial and motion logic for real-world tasks, positioning robotics as the exciting next phase beyond language AI.
• 🎥 Creators Defend AI Tools: Filmmaker Soderbergh and musician Diplo advocate for AI in art and music, arguing adaptation beats resistance, despite backlash from traditionalists.
• 🧠 Blurring Lines of Consciousness: Discussions on AI seeming sentient suggest we’ll treat it as conscious for practicality, raising ethical dilemmas about humanity’s relationship with machines.

Insights

• How are compute constraints turning today’s powerful AI models into unreliable daily tools?
  • Time: 0:07 – 5:23
  • Answer: Current models like Anthropic’s Claude are experiencing degraded performance as companies ration compute resources to prepare for larger upcoming models, leading to slower response times and reduced reasoning capabilities. This issue highlights the growing demand for AI outpacing available infrastructure, affecting user experience and adoption. It matters because it could widen the gap between hype and practical usability in everyday AI applications.
• Will the rush for massive AI models like Mythos and Spud exacerbate the divide between AI haves and have-nots?
  • Time: 5:27 – 7:17
  • Answer: Larger models require significantly more compute power, potentially leading to tiered pricing where premium access costs thousands monthly, while free or basic users face limitations. This mirrors broader economic shifts where compute becomes the new scarce resource, similar to oil or gold. The implication is a stratified AI economy that could limit innovation to well-funded entities.
• Why is Sam Altman’s aggressive compute investments looking prescient amid AI’s explosive growth?
• Could AI’s indistinguishability from human consciousness force us to treat it as alive for practical reasons?
• How is Google’s robotics model paving the way for smarter physical AI in real-world tasks?
• Why are creators like Soderbergh and Diplo embracing AI despite backlash from traditional artists?
• Can AI-generated parodies with celebrity likenesses redefine content creation and pitching in media?

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