A dispute over national security, AI regulation and global access has brought Anthropic’s advanced AI models into the spotlight. After receiving approval from the US government, the company has restored global access to Fable 5, while limited access to its more advanced Mythos 5 has also resumed for selected users.
Mythos 5 is Anthropic’s most advanced AI model series and is designed to identify and fix vulnerabilities in computer systems. Because these capabilities could also be misused by hackers, the company initially restricted access to a small group of trusted partners, first in the US and later internationally. On June 9, Anthropic released Fable 5, a public version equipped with safety filters to reduce the risk of misuse.
Just 3 days after the launch, the US government instructed Anthropic to block access to both Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for anyone who was not a US citizen, including the company’s own foreign employees. Since Anthropic could not easily verify users’ nationality, it suspended access to both models globally. The government said a user had managed to “jailbreak” Fable 5 to generate potentially harmful information. Anthropic responded that the issue was limited and similar vulnerabilities existed in other AI models.
The restrictions came amid already strained relations between the US administration and Anthropic. Earlier, the company declined to provide unrestricted AI access to the Pentagon for surveillance and weapons-related use. In response, the administration directed government agencies to stop using Anthropic’s products. Some observers believe the restrictions on Mythos 5 and Fable 5 were influenced by this earlier disagreement rather than AI safety concerns alone.
The administration also reportedly asked another leading AI company to limit the release of its own advanced AI model to a selected group of approved partners.
White House adviser Marc Andreessen said the administration remains divided between promoting American AI globally to compete with China and restricting access to advanced AI models over cybersecurity concerns.
Last week, the government eased restrictions by allowing limited access to Mythos 5 for selected US cybersecurity firms. On Tuesday, Anthropic also regained permission to restore global access to Fable 5. However, future rules governing advanced AI exports remain unclear. The US government is expected to introduce new security criteria by August, while Anthropic said it will work with Amazon, Microsoft, Google and other companies to develop standards for assessing and responding to AI security risks.
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