Anthropic CEO repeats what Ballmer said 25 years ago when calling Linux “a cancer”

In June 2001, Steve Ballmer, who had barely been CEO of Microsoft for a year and a half, granted an interview to the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper. During the course of it, he would make a historic statement by saying that “Linux is a cancer”. The curious thing is that 25 years later the CEO of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, made very similar statements when talking about how “Open Source AI is becoming a danger.” Both then and now, the reason that provoked these statements was none other than the fear that the Open Source philosophy would end up triumphing in the world. And if history teaches us anything—and perhaps Amodei should have foreseen it—it is that precisely what Ballmer did was not weaken Linux, but rather make it stronger than ever. That may also be what Dario Amodei ends up achieving. Amodei’s statements They were actually produced three years ago.. He made them in a speech before the US Senate Judiciary Committee in July 2023, but at that time they went somewhat unnoticed because at that time the most advanced AI models in the world were still very limited, and the situation for open models like Llama 3 was even worse. Linux was not dangerous per se. AI models of open weights, neither Three years later things have changed radically. The open models that several Chinese startups and technology companies have managed to develop are already very close to the impressive frontier models of Anthropic, OpenAI or Google, and Amodei’s prediction now becomes much more relevant. But it does so at a time when its Mythos and Fable 5 models have had a lot of problems precisely for being “dangerous.” Mythos Preview first and Mythos 5 now are only available for a small group of entities and companies due to its potential to find cybersecurity vulnerabilities. AND Fables 5which was a “layered” version of Mythos ended up being vetoed by the US government three days after going on the market. only yesterday its deployment was reinstatedbut it has done so with more restrictions to use it: if the model detects any dangerous intention, it is deactivated so that the user switches to using Opus 4.8. And while the US tries to put doors in the field with the excuse of national security, China does not even bat an eyelid. Chinese companies have not stopped launching more and better models of open weights, and We have the last and most splendid example in GLM-5.2the Zhipu.ai (Z.ai) model that is surprising everyone and everyone. Its creators already warned when launching it that its performance in various benchmarks is at the level of Claude Opus 5.5 or GPT-5.5. But independent analyzes in the field of cybersecurity they claim that GLM-5.2 is “as dangerous” as Opus 4.8 also in terms of cybersecurity. This points to a disturbing future for the US: that China will have models as powerful as Mythos in the short term. Jie Tang, CEO of Z.ai, agreed with that perspective: Elon Musk anticipated that these models would arrive in the first quarter of 2027, and Tang indicated that “it won’t take that long.” The real problem is not that Chinese companies develop open weight models with capabilities similar to those of Mythos. That will inevitably come, but as happened with Linux and Open Source software, The danger is that these models displace commercial software and threaten the dominant position of Anthropic and OpenAI. That’s what Ballmer feared 25 years ago, but what he seemed to point to with that FUD statement never happened. What happened was precisely what he would never have imagined: that Microsoft ended up “appropriating” Linux and Open Source solutions by integrating them into its cloud infrastructure, Azure. Today Linux virtual machines represent 61.8% of all those in Azure: this operating system has become an even more important option than Windows on that platform. It is no coincidence: the presence of Linux and Open Source platforms in the server market is absolutely dominant (about 90% globally), and the adoption of these solutions by Microsoft has been total. Not only in server environments, be careful: the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) layer of Windows operating systems has been a crucial attraction for users and especially developers for years. The company made its definitive move in that section when he bought GitHub in 2018and he hasn’t looked back since. The analogy with the Anthropic (or OpenAI) situation is inevitable. Linux then threatened Microsoft’s position, and open AI models threaten that of Anthropic or OpenAI. The question here is not whether those AI models developed by Chinese companies can be dangerous: Mythos, Fable 5 and GPT-5.5/5.6 have already shown that they can be. The question is who they are for. For the world… or for the companies trying to become the de facto monopolies of this industry? Linux, after all, wasn’t a cancer. Ballmer was not right. It’s very likely that Amodei doesn’t have it either. Image | World Bank Photo Collection | Wikimedia Commons In Xataka | For decades, Linux has earned a reputation as a “shielded” operating system. Until now

Today Steve Ballmer is richer than Gates

If one thing has become clear in Bill Gates’ 50-year professional career, it is that he has good nose for businessalthough sometimes he has failed in his decisions. This has led him to remain for almost four decades in the top 10 of the greatest fortunes. In his biographical book ‘Source code: My beginnings‘, the millionaire remembers what his biggest bet was: sign Steve Ballmer and offer you a good piece of the Microsoft pie. United through the halls of Harvard Bill Gates recalled in his book his years as a student at Harvard University in the fall of 1976, where the millionaire forged a close friendship with someone who, two decades He would later replace him at the helm of Microsoft. Gates met Ballmer through a mutual friend in a Harvard graduate economics class. “Steve looks a lot like you,” his friend told him. Unlike the rest of the mathematics students, Gates was impressed with the personality of his new friend. “Steve had incredible energy and a unique ability to motivate people,” Gates has written. I didn’t know it then, but that combination of skills made Ballmer the ideal candidate to help transform Microsoft from a small startup to a global corporation. In those years, Ballmer was already pointing out ways in the direction of sports. He was responsible for the university’s football team, oversaw advertising for its student newspaper, and was president of Harvard’s literary magazine. Gates describes in his book how he remembered attending a football game and seeing Ballmer “expend as much energy walking back and forth and jumping up and down the side of the field” as any of the players who were playing. Both companions they connected quickly and they became inseparable, chatting about the future, the power of business and how to revolutionize the world. Of course, among their big plans, they developed their particular strategy for success: skipping economics classes, and hurriedly studying at the last minute just before taking the exam…and passing it “triumphantly.” The millionaire says in his biography that the charismatic Ballmer was responsible for expanding Gates’ social circle during his time at Harvard, and introduces Bill Gates to the Fox Club. As the millionaire describes in his book, this club was known for its “black tie parties, secret handshakes, and other archaic rules and rituals,” which the Microsoft founder would have avoided if it weren’t for his effusive friend Ballmer. Steve, come to Microsoft In 1980, Bill Gates made a decision that would change the course of Microsoft and the technology industry. Gates needed a strategist, a partner who could handle the sales department to sell the product, while he focused on the technology. This is where Gates recalled Ballmer’s good social skills. In principle, the young founders of Microsoft were willing to offer up to 5% of the shares of their new company to recruit Steve Ballmer as a director. Finally, and thanks to Ballmer’s undeniable negotiating talent, Gates ended up agreeing to give him the 8.75% of Microsoft shares. Gates reflected on this decision years later: “Giving Steve those shares was one of the best decisions I ever made.” Microsoft’s success in the decades that followed demonstrated the wisdom of this choice, cementing the company’s position as a leader in the technology industry. The founder of Microsoft recognized the importance of having someone like Ballmer, who had a business vision complementary to his. “We needed someone who could help us grow as a business,” Gates explained in his memoirs. This decision demonstrated Gates’ long-term vision and willingness to sacrifice immediate gains for greater future benefit. The incorporation of Ballmer had a profound effect on the trajectory of Microsoft, beyond showing signs of the energy that conquered Gates. sweating his shirt on stageor doing for Gates to lose his shame in order to increase your sales. Ballmer’s years of leadership at the head of Microsoft cannot be considered the most brilliant of the company, which did not know how to rise to the top. mobile phone train. Ballmer returned to his passion After leave the world of technology and with 8.75% of the shares of a Microsoft catapulted to the financial success thanks to Satya NadellaSteve Ballmer has been able to dedicate himself body and soul to his passion: basketball. Bought the equipment of the NBA Los Angeles Clippers and that has led him to become the eleventh largest fortune in the world according to the Forbes millionaires list. Steve Ballmer has a net worth of 121.3 billion dollars, surpassing in wealth to his friend and mentor Bill Gates. In Xataka | Bill Gates earned $5.545 billion sleeping. This is what it means to have a fortune of 130,000 million Image | Flickr (Wired Photostream, World Bank Photo Collection)

Today Steve Ballmer is richer than Gates

If one thing has been clear in the 50 years of Bill Gates’s professional career, he has Good smell for businessalthough sometimes he has failed in his decisions. That has led him to remain for almost four decades in the Top 10 of the biggest fortunes. In his biographical book ‘Source Code: My Beginnings‘, the millionaire remembers what was his biggest bet: Sign Steve Ballmer and offer a good piece of the Microsoft cake. United for Harvard’s halls Bill Gates remembered in his book his years as a student at Harvard University in Autumn 1976, where the millionaire forged a close friendship with someone who, two decades Later he would replace him under Microsoft. Gates met Ballmer through a common friend in a harvard economy postgraduate class. “Steve looks a lot like you,” said his friend. Unlike the rest of the math students, Gates was impressed with the personality of his new friend. “Steve had incredible energy and a unique ability to motivate people,” Gates said. Then I didn’t know, but that Combination of skills He made Ballmer the ideal candidate to help transform Microsoft from a small startup to a global corporation. In those years, Ballmer already pointed ways in the sports direction. He was responsible for the University’s football team, supervised the advertising of his student newspaper and was the president of Harvard’s literary magazine. Gates describes in his book how he remembered having attended a football game and seeing Ballmer “spending so much energy walking from one place to another and jumping on the side of the field” like any of the players they were playing. Both partners They connected rapidly And they became inseparable, chatting about the future, the power of business and how to revolutionize the world. Of course among their great plans, they developed their particular strategy for success: to skip the economy classes, and study in a hurry at the last minute just before presenting the exam … and approve it “triumphant.” The millionaire tells his biography that the charismatic Ballmer was responsible for expanding the social circle of Gates during his time in Harvard, and introduces Bill Gates in the Fox Club. As described by the Millionaire in his book, this club was known for his “Tag parties, secret hands and other archaic rules and rituals”, the founder of Microsoft would have avoided not being for his effusive friend Ballmer. Steve, Vente to Microsoft In 1980, Bill Gates made a decision that would change Microsoft’s course and of the technology industry. Gates needed a strategist, a partner who could handle the commercial department to sell the product, while he concentrated on technology. This is where Gates recalled Ballmer’s good social skills. In principle, young Microsoft founders were willing to offer up to 5% of their new company’s shares to recruit Steve Ballmer as manager. Finally, and thanks to the undeniable Ballmer’s negotiating talent, Gates ended up accessing him to deliver the 8.75% of Microsoft’s actions. Gates reflected on this decision years later: “Giving Steve those actions was one of the best decisions I have made.” Microsoft’s success in the following decades demonstrated the wisdom of this election, consolidating the company’s position as leader in the technology industry. The founder of Microsoft recognized the importance of having someone like Ballmer, who had a business vision complementary to his. “We needed someone who could help us grow as a business,” Gates explained in his memoirs. This decision demonstrated the long -term vision of Gates and his willingness to sacrifice immediate profits for a major future benefit. Ballmer’s incorporation had a deep effect on Microsoft’s trajectory, beyond showing the energy that conquered Gates Sweating the shirt on stageor doing that Gates lost his shame in order to increase your sales. Ballmer’s leadership years at the head of Microsoft cannot be considered the brightest of the company, who did not know how to get on Mobile telephony train. Ballmer returned to his passion After leave the world of technology and with 8.75% of the actions of a Microsoft catapulted to financial success by Satya NadellaSteve Ballmer has been able to devote himself in body and soul to his passion: basketball. He bought the team of the NBA Los Angeles Clippers and that has led him to become the thirteenth fortune in the world according to the Forbes Millionaires Listwith a patrimony of 121.3 billion dollars, overcoming in wealth To his friend and mentor Bill Gates. In Xataka | Bill Gates won 5,545 million dollars sleeping. This is what implies having a fortune of 130,000 million Image | Flickr (Wired Photostream, World Bank Photo Collection)

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