Executives at Anthropic faced a critical situation on June 12, with only 90 minutes to restrict one of the world's most advanced AI systems. The U.S. Commerce Secretary ordered strict trade limits on Anthropic's powerful AI, Mythos 5, and its public version, Fable 5. The company had to quickly shut down access for users outside the U.S. and for non-U.S. citizens within the country. Moving these AI models domestically now requires special permission.
The reason for this urgent shutdown was a security test that worked too well. Anthropic was working with U.S. intelligence agencies on Project Glasswing to improve software security. During a test, the Mythos AI was used to find weaknesses in government networks. It quickly found vulnerabilities in sensitive federal systems.
This rapid discovery caused alarm in Washington. Senator Mark Warner mentioned that the AI "broke into almost all of our classified systems, not in weeks but in hours." The Trump administration reacted by reinforcing an executive order for evaluating AI risks. Amazon, a major investor in Anthropic, reported a vulnerability, which led to the trade limitations.
Anthropic disagreed with the government's actions, arguing the security concerns didn't justify such extreme measures. Over 100 tech professionals also signed a letter asking the government to withdraw the order. They argued that Mythos, while good at finding code flaws, wasn't necessarily better than other AI models. They warned that removing a top cybersecurity tool without good reason creates risks while competitors advance.
The situation escalated as Anthropic worried about how the U.S. military might use its technology. The Pentagon had previously classified Anthropic as a national security threat for refusing to remove safety limits on defense products.
However, the crisis eased after President Trump met with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei at the G7 Summit. Trump later praised Amodei's response to the restrictions. While the president's view changed, the Commerce Department's directive and the Pentagon's classification remain in place as negotiations continue.