AI development increasingly focused on emotional intelligence over traditional logic benchmarks A trend is emerging in the artificial intelligence industry where companies are shifting focus from traditional performance metrics like scientific knowledge and logical reasoning to developing more emotionally intelligent and empathetic language models, according to a report in TechCrunch. This push is driven by competition based on 'soft measures' such as user preference and the perceived helpfulness and naturalness of AI interactions. The development of simulated emotional intelligence is becoming a key differentiator for foundation models as the industry aims to create more sophisticated and human-aligned AI. June 25, 2025 Anthropic wins limited fair use ruling for AI training but faces trial over pirated books In a significant copyright case, a federal judge has ruled that AI company Anthropic's practice of training its models on legally purchased physical books that it digitized is considered fair use, according to a report in The Verge. Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California issued the first-of-its-kind ruling, describing the use of legally acquired content for AI training as "sufficiently transformative." However, the victory for Anthropic is limited, as the judge also ruled that the company must face a separate trial for storing and potentially using millions of pirated books downloaded from the internet, which does not fall under fair use. The decision explicitly does not address the separate legal question of whether the outputs generated by AI models infringe on copyrights. June 24, 2025