So I've done just a few things in Claude and maxed out since I'm on free account. Decided to go ahead and upgrade from the free plan to the Pro plan. Paid the $220.00 (yearly with tax included in the price). Takes me back to the login page and now says my account has been banned! Like, wth! And they've taken my payment. So I go to appeal the ban of course. The appeal form right off asks for your Organization ID which is found in your account which when you've been banned you can't access. Without this you can't appeal the ban. No email or chat with a real person only their AI bot. And it wants you to login. Can't do that but it does give you a button to push if you can't login. Do that. Gives you the option to "help troubleshoot" or "account has been disabled". So I choose account disabled. It immediately tells me how to appeal with the appeal form that you can't fill out because you can't get into your account and ends the chat immediately without allowing you to respond. Ok so go back in and tell it to help troubleshoot and tell it what has happened and that one can't fill out the form without being able to get the required info from the account. It again gives me the appeal form info and ends the conversation. There's no email to be able to send any info to, no way to contact an actual person to assist in this. So I'm out $220 and no way to get it back. Ask me if I'm interested in learning more about Claude now - ain't no way And this also means that the appeals process is in name only and no real way to actually appeal

I'm new to the community and I want to learn more about AI. If there's something I don't understand, could you please help me? Thanks! Hugs

You may have seen a lot of discussion online about Anthropic, Claude, the U.S. government and OpenAI — and not all of it is clear or accurate. Here’s a concise summary of what’s been happening, why it’s significant, and a chance to hear your view. 📌 What triggered the dispute Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) demanded that Anthropic grant unrestricted access to its Claude AI for military use, including lawful purposes that could include domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons deployment. Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei, refused, citing ethical guardrails the company has built into its AI — especially prohibitions on mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons without human oversight. When Anthropic stood firm, the Pentagon threatened to cancel a significant contract (≈ $200 million) and label the company a “supply chain risk.” Shortly thereafter, President Trump directed all U.S. federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s AI technology, citing national security concerns. Anthropic has publicly stated it plans to challenge the “supply chain risk” designation in court and maintain its ethical stance. CEO Amodei characterised his decision not to relent as compatible with defending democratic values — even if it means falling out with government authorities. Meanwhile, OpenAI struck a separate deal with the Pentagon to supply AI for classified military networks, which some commentators believe reflects a different approach to the same set of ethical red lines. 🤔 Why this matters for anyone using AI tools This isn’t just about military contracts — it highlights key tensions in our industry: 1. AI ethics vs. use case pressureCompanies are being pushed to bend their internal safety guardrails in the face of external expectations about how their AI should be used. The Anthropic standoff shows how far a company might go to stick to its principles — and the real consequences when it does. 2. Competition and positioningAnthropic is also promoting easier switching to Claude, even offering tools to import chat histories — part of a broader strategy to attract users amid the controversy.

What if you could take a simple Excel idea… and turn it into a fully working app? In this short video, I walk you through exactly how I: - Designed a debt repayment calculator for advisory work - Built a powerful Excel model comparing Snowball vs Avalanche methods - Then transformed it into a clean, interactive app with sliders, charts and client views - Used the right AI tools at each stage instead of relying on just one If you work with clients who are in debt… this is serious advisory opportunity. Most accountants stop at spreadsheets. But imagine being able to: - Show clients visually how overpayments change outcomes - Compare strategies instantly - Deliver something that feels modern and high value That changes the conversation. And in the video, I also explain why choosing the right AI tool for the job makes all the difference. If you want the full process, step by step, I’m going deeper on this in the live webinar on WEDNESDAY. 👉 Book your place here Now I’m curious… 💬 What Excel spreadsheets do you currently use in your firm that could be turned into something more powerful? Drop them below.Your idea might become the next demo I build.

👉 You can register for the live session here. Most people know AI matters. But knowing that… and actually using it well inside your business… are two very different things. A lot of people have tried ChatGPT. They’ve tested a few prompts. Maybe even a couple of tools. And then quietly thought: “Why isn’t this saving me much time?” The problem isn’t effort or intelligence. It’s structure. On February 25, I’m running a live, practical AI working session for accountants and bookkeeping firm owners. This is not a theory session. Not a tool demo. And not AI hype. I’ll show you how AI is already being used inside accounting firms to remove friction, reduce thinking time, and make day-to-day work feel lighter. 👉 You can register for the live session here