• Anthropic’s new AI tool can write 67-year-old COBOL code, sending 115-year-old IBM’s stock tumbling by 13% - IBM stock has worst day in 26 years, down 25% MoM and counting Ancient language is still the bread-and-butter of mainframe systems Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. • You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful What do airlines, banks, and insurance companies have in common? • Besides being an absolute pain to deal with, they all rely on COBOL and IBM mainframe computers as core infrastructure. • The computing giant’s stranglehold over those markets may finally begin to crack, though. • Anthropic has announced COBOL-specific functionality for its Claude AI bot, and IBM’s investors responded with a resounding 13% drop in stock prices. • Anthropic published its ideas in a blog post, and the company seems to know its target market quite well.

Article Summaries:

  • Anthropic has unveiled a new feature for its Claude AI that can generate COBOL code, the legacy programming language still used on IBM mainframes. The announcement sparked a sharp sell‑off in IBM’s shares, with the stock falling 13% on a day that marked its worst performance in 26 years and a 25% month‑over‑month decline. Investors cited the potential threat to IBM’s long‑standing dominance in mainframe markets, where COBOL remains critical for banking, insurance, and government systems. The move highlights growing interest in using AI to modernize or replace aging mainframe infrastructure.
  • Anthropic announced that its Claude AI can generate COBOL code, the legacy language that powers many IBM mainframe systems used by airlines, banks, and government agencies. The claim, highlighted in a blog post and demo videos, suggested that the AI could modernize or replace decades‑old COBOL applications. Investors reacted sharply, sending IBM’s shares down 13% on the day and marking the company’s worst trading day in 26 years. The drop also contributed to a 25% month‑over‑month decline in IBM’s stock, underscoring concerns that AI‑driven code generation could erode the firm’s long‑standing dominance in mainframe computing.

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