The new version of Cowork moves the virtual machine to the cloud and keeps sessions separate
According to Anthropic, the new version of Cowork runs both the model and the virtual machine in the cloud. Each session has its own sandbox and does not share state with the others. The desktop app provides access to files on the user’s device.
According to Felix Rieseberg from Anthropic, the new version of Cowork moves the virtual machine from the user’s device to the cloud, where model inference was already taking place. Each session gets its own sandbox, an isolated environment, and does not share state with other sessions. If the virtual machine needs a file from the user’s device, the desktop app provides access.
In the previous version, the virtual machine ran locally and could access only data explicitly added to the session. According to Rieseberg, users were unhappy with the demands on storage, battery and performance, as well as the fact that closing the laptop stopped the work. The company expects the move to the cloud to allow tasks to continue without keeping the laptop open and to eliminate local battery consumption caused by the virtual machine.
Why it matters
Tasks are moving off the user’s device, which, according to the company, addresses their dependence on keeping a laptop open. Session isolation also means that follow-up work cannot rely on shared state between sessions.
Two audiences, two different impacts
What this means
For individuals
The virtual machine will now run outside your computer; according to the company, this will eliminate its local demands on battery, storage and performance.
For a business
Tool execution is moving from work devices to the cloud. For companies working with files in Cowork, it is therefore relevant to assess this change against their rules for processing company data.
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Event sources
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