Anthropic simply launched a brand new mannequin referred to as Claude 3.7 Sonnet, and whereas I am all the time within the newest AI capabilities, it was the brand new “prolonged” mode that basically drew my eye. It jogged my memory of how OpenAI first debuted its o1 mannequin for ChatGPT. It supplied a means of accessing o1 with out leaving a window utilizing the ChatGPT 4o mannequin. You would kind “/cause,” and the AI chatbot would use o1 as a substitute. It is superfluous now, although it nonetheless works on the app. Regardless, the deeper, extra structured reasoning promised by each made me wish to see how they might do towards each other.
Claude 3.7’s Prolonged mode is designed to be a hybrid reasoning software, giving customers the choice to toggle between fast, conversational responses and in-depth, step-by-step problem-solving. It takes time to investigate your immediate earlier than delivering its reply. That makes it nice for math, coding, and logic. You may even fine-tune the steadiness between pace and depth, giving it a time restrict to consider its response. Anthropic positions this as a strategy to make AI extra helpful for real-world functions that require layered, methodical problem-solving, versus simply surface-level responses.
Accessing Claude 3.7 requires a subscription to Claude Professional, so I made a decision to make use of the demonstration within the video under as my check as a substitute. To problem the Prolonged pondering mode, Anthropic requested the AI to investigate and clarify the favored, classic likelihood puzzle often called the Monty Corridor Downside. It’s a deceptively difficult query that stumps lots of people, even those that think about themselves good at math.
The setup is easy: you are on a sport present and requested to choose one in every of three doorways. Behind one is a automobile; behind the others, goats. At a whim, Anthropic determined to go along with crabs as a substitute of goats, however the precept is identical. After you make your alternative, the host, who is aware of what’s behind every door, opens one of many remaining two to disclose a goat (or crab). Now you have got a alternative: stick along with your unique decide or change to the final unopened door. Most individuals assume it doesn’t matter, however counterintuitively, switching truly provides you a 2/3 probability of profitable, whereas sticking along with your first alternative leaves you with only a 1/3 likelihood.
Crabby Decisions

With Prolonged Pondering enabled, Claude 3.7 took a measured, virtually tutorial strategy to explaining the issue. As an alternative of simply stating the proper reply, it rigorously laid out the underlying logic in a number of steps, emphasizing why the possibilities shift after the host reveals a crab. It didn’t simply clarify in dry math phrases, both. Claude ran via hypothetical eventualities, demonstrating how the possibilities performed out over repeated trials, making it a lot simpler to understand why switching is all the time the higher transfer. The response wasn’t rushed; it felt like having a professor stroll me via it in a gradual, deliberate method, making certain I really understood why the frequent instinct was flawed.
ChatGPT o1 supplied simply a lot of a break down, and defined the difficulty nicely. In truth, it defined it in a number of types and kinds. Together with the fundamental likelihood, it additionally went via sport concept, the narrative views, the psychological expertise, and even an financial breakdown. If something, it was a bit of overwhelming.
Gameplay
That is not all Claude’s Prolonged pondering might do, although. As you possibly can see within the video, Claude was even in a position to make a model of the Monty Corridor Downside right into a sport you could possibly play proper within the window. Making an attempt the identical immediate with ChatGPT o1 did not do fairly the identical. As an alternative, ChatGPT wrote an HTML script for a simulation of the issue that I might save and open in my browser. It labored, as you possibly can see under, however took just a few further steps.
Whereas there are virtually definitely small variations in high quality relying on what sort of code or math you are engaged on, each Claude’s Prolonged pondering and ChatGPT’s o1 mannequin supply strong, analytical approaches to logical issues. I can see the benefit of adjusting the time and depth of reasoning that Claude affords. That stated, until you are actually in a rush or demand an unusually heavy bit of research, ChatGPT would not take up an excessive amount of time and produces numerous content material from its pondering.
The power to render the issue as a simulation inside the chat is way more notable. It makes Claude really feel extra versatile and highly effective, even when the precise simulation possible makes use of very related code to the HTML written by ChatGPT.