It is a warning shot not only to Anthropic, but to the entire world: The American government has imposed an export ban on two of Anthropic’s most powerful AI models, which appears unprecedented in its dimensions. Accordingly, these models, Mythos 5 and Fable 5, must be blocked for all foreigners. So not only geopolitical opponents are affected, but also allies USA. According to the company, even its own foreign employees are no longer allowed to access the technologies. Anthropic therefore saw no other option than to switch off the models completely for the time being, including for Americans.
There is still something in the fog that prompted the US government to take this drastic step. Apparently it was about safety concerns, but Anthropic portrays the far-reaching export ban as disproportionate and feels it has been treated unfairly. The company argues that the alleged weak points of the models in question are minor and can also be found in competitors’ offers. The government’s decision is also surprising because it cuts itself in the flesh to some extent. Mythos has been widely used to find and fix security gaps in software, so it may have been very useful for the USA.
US government sends unmistakable signal
It is quite possible that the dispute between Anthropic and the US government, which has been simmering for months, contributed to the renewed escalation. A few months ago, the government declared Anthropic a risk to national security because of different views on the use of AI technologies, and the company sued them. It is also conceivable that things will calm down quite quickly and the ban on Mythos 5 and Fable 5 will be lifted again in the near future.
Nevertheless, with its brutal maneuvers, the US government sent an unmistakable signal that should alarm the entire world. It is ready to exert its control in such an important field as artificial intelligence and cut off the rest of the world’s access to such technologies overnight. The lesson of this demonstration of power by the Americans for Europe can only be to reduce dependence on the USA as quickly as possible.
