METR Gets Inside Anthropic: The Koda Signal, 2026-10-19

Koda Signal daily AI briefing for 2026-10-19.

In this episode: • METR Gets Inside Anthropic: METR can now evaluate Anthropic's models from inside the company, using its internal systems and hardware. Granting a third-party safety evaluator that depth of access raises the bar for what independent oversight can mean. It also puts pressure on OpenAI, Google DeepMind and Meta to explain their own arrangements. • DeepMind Argon's 87% ERQA Score: DeepMind presented Argon's capabilities in physical-world understanding, coding and visual reasoning for robotics, according to a weekly industry roundup from Herald Corp. The new data point is an 87% ERQA score, which has not yet been independently replicated. Until outside testing confirms it, the figure remains a company claim. • UCLA PhoneBot Uses Android Phone: UCLA's PhoneBot is a 19-inch bipedal robot that uses an Android phone as its torso, with the phone's camera, motion sensors and processor handling vision, balance and movement. The remaining parts cost about $400, which makes it a cheap entry point for hobbyists.

Full briefing: https://www.koda.community/morning-briefing-koda-2026-10-19.html