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US government orders halt to powerful AI models, citing security risks
🇵🇦 Panama /Technology

US government orders halt to powerful AI models, citing security risks

From TVN Panamá · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • US artificial intelligence firm Anthropic has suspended access to its most powerful AI models following a US government order citing national security risks.
  • The order, reportedly from the Commerce Department under Donald Trump, restricts access for foreign nationals to Anthropic's new Mythos 5 and Fable 5 models.
  • Anthropic is working to restore access, stating the decision was based on a misunderstanding of a potential vulnerability and could paralyze AI development.

US artificial intelligence company Anthropic announced it has suspended access to the most powerful version of its technology, complying with a US government order that cites national security risks. The company, creator of the chatbot Claude, stated Friday night that it has blocked access to its two new models, Mythos 5 and Fable 5, which were released to the public on Tuesday.

The order from the Donald Trump administration, invoking export controls, mandates cutting off access to these models for "any foreign citizen, inside or outside the United States," including Anthropic's "foreign employees." Because Anthropic cannot filter its users, the company felt compelled to "abruptly deactivate" both models for all customers.

We take note of Anthropic's statement and are evaluating the situation

— Thomas RegnierSpokesperson for the European Commission commenting on the situation.

The European Union, which had gained access to Mythos earlier in June after weeks of negotiations, stated this situation underscores Europe's need for technological sovereignty. "We take note of Anthropic's statement and are evaluating the situation," said Thomas Regnier, a spokesperson for the European Commission. The Commission recently unveiled measures aimed at reducing the 27-member bloc's reliance on the US and Asia for critical technologies, including AI.

We do not agree that discovering a potential vulnerability (...), even if limited, should be grounds for withdrawing a commercial model already used by hundreds of millions of people

— AnthropicThe company's statement questioning the US government's decision.

According to Axios, the directive originated from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The US government reportedly issued the order after learning that a company had managed to bypass safeguards designed for these models, which are known for their unprecedented speed and accuracy in detecting and exploiting cybersecurity flaws. The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.

Anthropic questioned the decision, attributing it to "a misunderstanding." The company stated, "We do not agree that discovering a potential vulnerability (...), even if limited, should be grounds for withdrawing a commercial model already used by hundreds of millions of people." They added, "If this standard were applied to the entire sector, we believe it would virtually paralyze all new deployments of cutting-edge AI models." Anthropic, a key competitor to OpenAI, Google, and China's DeepSeek, is working to restore access to these advanced models as soon as possible, while other models remain operational.

If this standard were applied to the entire sector, we believe it would virtually paralyze all new deployments of cutting-edge AI models

— AnthropicThe company's statement on the potential impact of the decision on AI development.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by TVN Panamá in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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