Anthropic Gives Away 5% of Its Shares, Clone’s Muscle Robot, ElevenLabs Steals Podcaster's Voice

Anthropic said it would put 5% of its stock into a fund for public-benefit projects, pending shareholder approval. Its board could add another 2% for each 50% increase in the company’s value above an undisclosed baseline; at a hypothetical $2 trillion valuation, the initial stake would be worth about $100 billion. The hosts questioned how much discretion Anthropic’s leaders would have over spending and whether the fund’s priorities would reflect the public’s. Elon Musk argued the shares should instead go directly to people. He said he plans to give one SpaceX share to every child in America next year, though eligibility is unclear; one host estimated that covering about 3.6 million U.S. births at an assumed $150 per share would cost roughly $500 million.

Clone Robotics is developing human-sized, lifelike androids that use artificial muscles rather than the motors common in humanoid robots. Lon described a hydraulic muscle made from a pressurized elastomeric tube inside an inextensible braided sleeve: pressure causes it to contract and pull a tendon. Human-sized hands can use tools designed for people, but fitting greater strength into the same space involves trade-offs. Clone’s Dhanush Radhakrishnan said the company built what it considers the world’s most human-level robotic hands during its first 18 months, on a half-million-dollar budget. Its Torso 2 has hundreds of sensors across its artificial muscle fibers and joints; Radhakrishnan said the sensing makes it controllable and simulatable for enterprise use, but he declined to disclose the muscle materials.

Clone says its hydraulic design has no gears and could cost one-tenth as much to produce as motor-actuated humanoids. Its founder said the company raised $24 million over five years and developed its hydraulic actuation technology and miniaturized valves within that budget, with future funding expected to support further miniaturization. The torso is the main focus so far, while the prototype’s legs were actuated but not built to specification. Clone plans to start with human-level torsos for enterprise settings such as assembly lines and manufacturing, and expects its first torso deployments next year. The company estimates complete home androids could be two to three years away; Denouce separately forecast a first home deployment around 2027, possibly as early as the first quarter. Clone’s founder is betting that improved models and data will provide much of the robot’s intelligence, and expects models to have an effective half-life of six to twelve months. Denouce said the company expects customers to earn back a robot’s cost through use, with a roughly $25,000 affordable model and a luxury line potentially priced around $1 million.

Chris Williamson alleged that ElevenLabs’ “Archer” voice copied him in a video that drew almost 800,000 views in about 48 hours. ElevenLabs said the voice was supplied by a different actor and removed it from the platform, but did not admit wrongdoing. A panelist said the distinctive Cockney accent and a side-by-side comparison suggested the voice was based on Williamson’s; listeners had also asked whether recordings using it were his. The panelist argued that this confusion could support a legal case and predicted public figures may need to trademark their voices and distinctive speaking styles. The panel discussed offering Williamson $100,000 in shares and licensing his actual voice as a possible resolution. ElevenLabs has licensed celebrity voices, including Michael Caine’s in a deal announced in November 2025, but the panel did not establish the deal’s price. The company’s pricing depends on the project, intended use, audience size and license duration.

Jason said Nathan Fielder received access to Elizabeth Holmes three days before she entered prison for a three-hour documentary that opens with the 30 days before her incarceration. The film examines Holmes, her partner Billy Evans, Silicon Valley’s “fake it till you make it” culture, and questions of truth and responsibility. It was reported at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and 98% from audiences, based on 121 professional reviews and more than 1,000 verified ratings.

Odyssey, a world-model startup, posted a video of a simulated fruit-fly brain flying through worlds generated by Odyssey 3; it received more than five million views. The fly was a computer simulation, not a live insect connected to wires. Speakers disagreed about AI risk: one favored including safety critics in the debate, while another rejected a 10% chance of catastrophe and estimated the chance of losing control of technology at roughly one in a billion.