Lutnick Says Anthropic AI Models Posed Foreign Military Risk
By CU Today Staff —
WASHINGTON—U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick ordered Anthropic to halt global access to its newest Fable 5 and Mythos 5 artificial intelligence models because the Trump Administration feared the technology could be used by military or intelligence organizations in China, Russia and other countries of concern, according to Reuters.
Reuters reported that Lutnick outlined those concerns in a June 13 letter to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, directing the company to suspend exports of the models to all foreign nationals worldwide. The action prompted Anthropic to disable access to the models for all users while negotiations with the Commerce Department continue.
Senior Anthropic technical staff met with Commerce Department officials Monday in Washington, and Reuters reported the two sides are seeking a resolution that would allow the company to restore access while satisfying national security concerns. Commerce officials are seeking assurances the models cannot be used in ways that could threaten U.S. interests, while Anthropic is working to return its flagship AI systems to service.
According to Reuters, the government believes a safeguard designed to prevent Fable 5 from being used to identify software vulnerabilities can be bypassed through a "jailbreak" technique. Anthropic has disputed the severity of the issue, saying the method exposed only minor security weaknesses and that other publicly available AI models are capable of similar functions. Reuters also reported that Anthropic and Commerce officials have been in near-daily discussions since Friday, with Lutnick personally involved in efforts to reach an agreement.
Originally reported by CU Today.