U.S. Government Orders Suspension of Anthropic’s A.I. Models

The San Francisco-based company, Anthropic, announced on Friday night that the federal government had ordered the suspension of its two artificial intelligence systems. This decision was made due to national security concerns.

On Friday, Anthropic stated that the U.S. government issued an order to halt access for foreign nationals to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 A.I. models. The company posted on social media, explaining that they “must abruptly disable Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all our customers to ensure compliance.” This suspension also affects foreign nationals employed by Anthropic.

Anthropic introduced Claude Mythos in April. However, it was not shared publicly because of fears it would be a powerful tool for hackers. The new A.I. system became a significant concern for both Washington and Silicon Valley. Experts had long worried about A.I. systems posing a threat to computer networks.

To help patch security vulnerabilities, Anthropic allowed around 40 organizations, which maintain critical computer infrastructure, to use the Claude A.I. system. This was intended to prevent hackers from exploiting weaknesses.

The limitation order reportedly came from the Commerce Department. A person with knowledge of the situation, speaking anonymously, confirmed this. The duration of these restrictions remains unclear.