The AI giant Anthropic has recently released an intriguing internal research report, which reveals in detail how AI tools have fundamentally transformed the workflows of its own engineers and researchers through "introspection."
The report, titled "How AI is Changing Work at Anthropic," is based on a survey of 132 technical staff within the company in August 2025, along with 53 in-depth interviews, depicting a rapidly transforming workplace: while productivity has seen explosive growth, concerns about skills and social detachment have also emerged.
Productivity Surge and the Birth of "New Jobs"
The report shows that AI has been deeply integrated into the daily development at Anthropic. Compared to a year ago, employees reported a productivity increase from 20% to 50%. Now, engineers use their self-developed models (such as Claude Sonnet4 and Opus4) in about 60% of their daily tasks.
More notably, AI is not only speeding up existing work but also creating entirely new job areas. According to the respondents, approximately 27% of AI-assisted tasks are ones that would have been too costly to do manually. This includes building better internal tools, writing more comprehensive test code, and fixing long-neglected minor code defects (papercuts). AI allows engineers to step away from tedious repetitive labor to handle higher-value or more exploratory tasks.
The Trend Toward "Full-Stack" and Skill Anxiety
The involvement of AI is breaking down the barriers of technical specialization. The report states that engineers at Anthropic are becoming increasingly "full-stack." With the help of AI, engineers who once focused on backend or security can now confidently write frontend interfaces or perform data visualizations. The autonomy of Claude Code (their internal coding tool) has also increased, as it can now handle workflows twice as complex as those half a year ago.
However, this convenience also raises deep concerns. Some senior engineers worry that over-reliance on AI may lead to a "shrinkage" of core technical capabilities. When generated code becomes easily accessible, engineers may gradually lose a deep understanding of underlying logic, making it difficult to effectively evaluate and supervise the quality of AI-generated code.
Mundane Changes in Workplace Culture
Beyond the technical aspects, the impact of AI on workplace interaction is also significant. The report mentions that junior employees now prefer to ask Claude questions rather than consult senior colleagues. While this improves problem-solving efficiency, it also reduces opportunities for human collaboration, and traditional "mentor-apprentice" guidance relationships are being weakened. Some employees even admit that as AI capabilities continue to evolve, they feel uncertain about their future career roles, worrying that they might eventually be "automated out of their jobs."
Anthropic concludes in the report that although their experience as an AI developer is unique, it may be a preview of widespread societal transformation. How to enjoy the efficiency benefits of AI while maintaining human depth of thinking and maintaining human connections in the workplace will be a challenge that all industries must face in the coming AI era.
