US tech firm Anthropic asked to restrict global access to advanced AI models

US Government Issues Export Control Directive Over AI Model Access

The US government has issued an export control directive, suspending access to the top AI models developed by Anthropic, a San Francisco-based company. The directive, citing national security concerns, applies to all foreign nationals, including those employed by Anthropic.

Anthropic announced the move in a blog post on Friday, stating that the US government had given the company an order to suspend access to its new AI model, Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5. The company claims it worked with the US government and other entities to ensure safety ahead of the model’s launch.

The export control directive comes after Anthropic was put on a supply chain blacklist by the Trump administration for refusing to allow the US military to use its AI models for domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons systems. Anthropic is now suing the administration over this decision.

According to reports, the US government received a warning about potential security issues with Anthropic’s AI model, which led to the export control order. The company disputes this claim, stating that it only received “verbal evidence of a potential narrow, non-universal jailbreak.”

The Pentagon’s chief information officer, Kirsten Davies, expressed support for prioritizing national security in a social media post. However, the veracity of these reports has not been independently confirmed.

Experts have warned that AI models like Mythos 5 could be used to accelerate sophisticated cyberattacks if they fall into the wrong hands. Anthropic’s Fable 5 model is currently blocked due to the US government order.

Other major AI developers, such as OpenAI, have developed similar AI models but have not faced strict direct restrictions from the Trump administration.

Source: Al Jazeera