These past few years, we have seen Python become the backbone of modern AI development. Most machine learning frameworks, including TensorFlow and PyTorch, rely heavily on Python.
The language's accessible nature and extensive library ecosystem have made it the default choice for data scientists and AI researchers worldwide.
Now, the stewards of this programming language, the Python Software Foundation, have announced that Anthropic, the company behind Claude, will invest $1.5 million in the foundation over the next two years.
Python Software Foundation has rejected the same funding from the US government
Last year, the Python Software Foundation (PSF) turned down a $1.5 million government grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The main bone of contention was the provision that if the PSF was found to have violated the anti-DEI diktat set by the US government, the NSF reserved the right to take back any previously disbursed funds.
Loren Crary of PSF wrote:
"These terms included affirming the statement that we 'do not, and will not during the term of this financial assistance award, operate any programs that advance or promote DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion], or discriminatory equity ideology in violation of Federal anti-discrimination laws,'"
Anthropic, parent company of Claude AI, steps in
The main objective of this staggered funding is to ensure better security across the Python ecosystem, with a primary focus on protecting the Python Package Index (PyPI) from supply chain attacks.
If you were not familiar with it, PyPI hosts hundreds of thousands of packages and serves millions of developers globally, but is sadly prone to the influx of malicious open source packages.
With this influx of cash, the Python team is looking to create new tools for automated review of any packages uploaded to the platform, moving away from their current approach of reacting only when issues are found.
To accomplish that, they will build a new dataset cataloging known malware. This dataset will help them design detection tools that can identify suspicious patterns and behaviors automatically. The PSF notes that their approach here could benefit other open source package repositories too.
The $1.5 million won't just go toward security work. It will also help the PSF maintain day-to-day operations like running PyPI, supporting the Developers in Residence program for CPython contributions, and funding community initiatives through grants.
Conclusion
I think making a donation such as this makes sense for an organization like Anthropic. We already know many of these so-called "high-volume" users don't really look back after they are done making use of the infrastructure.
They usually extract value from open source projects without contributing back in meaningful ways.
Anthropic taking the effort shows that at least they care enough to put away some money to ensure the wellbeing of such a critical piece of IT infrastructure. And given how their systems depend on Python, this investment looks as much about protecting their own operations as it is about supporting the community.
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Sourav Rudra
