Anthropic’s Claude 4 AI can work for seven straight hours, a milestone in AI performance.
Claude 4, the latest iteration from Anthropic, got headlines last week for its impressive endurance, capable of tackling tasks uninterrupted for hours. This surpasses existing models like ChatGPT, which typically falter in lengthy engagements.
Jan Williamson, a 72-year-old user from Pennsylvania, has noticed limitations with AI during extended chats. “It starts to run out of gas,” she said. Claude 4, however, keeps going, making it noteworthy in the ongoing AI arms race. 
"What Anthropic has accomplished with Claude Opus 4 is an incredible, unmatched feat in AI. For a model to work on a task for seven straight hours is unheard of," said Brian Jackson, principal research director at Info-Tech Research Group.
Claude’s efficiency stems from its capability to handle 200,000 tokens—almost double ChatGPT’s 128,000. This increased token limit allows for longer sessions before the model needs to reset, though performance drops once capacity is reached.
MJ Jiang, chief strategy and revenue officer at Credibly, pointed out that during extensive conversations, AI often starts to forget earlier inputs. "As a result, older parts of a conversation may be discarded, leading to reduced accuracy," she said.
Claude’s breakthrough raises questions about the future. Can AI reach a full 24-hour workday? The consensus is that while it may be feasible, immense computational power and cost will remain constraints.
"Anthropic probably wants some sort of limit on how much cost will go into these super-sessions, or else it could break the bank," Jackson added.
Jeremy Rambarran from Touro University suggests that advancing to a 24-hour AI is complex. “Transitioning from 7-hour sessions to….constantly active AI agents would transform AI from a mere instrument into a partner,” he noted.
The environmental impact also can’t be ignored. Jiang warned about the potential for severe resource shortages as AI’s energy demands continue to soar. "You can envision a future where the demand for water cooling is so great that water shortages become even more prevalent," she stated.
Dario Amodei, Anthropic’s CEO, emphasized the importance of building long-term relationships in different fields with AI, hinting at specialized systems evolving alongside Claude.
Not everyone is sold on the idea that AI burnout is behind us. Jon Brewton from Data2 cautions about hidden constraints. "Claude’s current seven-hour workday reflects breakthroughs… but hitting a full 24-hour stretch will require cheaper, more efficient hardware," he warned.
The race is on, but there are still hurdles to clear for AI to work around the clock without missing a beat.
