METR's November 5 assessment found that Anthropic's models were probably progressing roughly twice as fast on clearly defined tasks in October 2026 as during March 2024 to October 2025. METR judged that AI assistance probably explains most of the recent acceleration, but Anthropic withheld much of the supporting evidence. Six months at the measured pace could produce about a year of benchmark progress. Superintelligence within that period would require those gains to extend to open-ended research and help successive models accelerate further development. The Associated Press reported that Anthropic co-founder Sam McCandlish defended the redactions on commercial and safety grounds.