US orders Anthropic to disable AI models for all foreign nationals
Anthropic says the US government ordered it to block foreign nationals from accessing its newest AI models over national security concerns.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
Anthropic says it cut off access to its newest models after a US government order, including for foreign nationals working inside the company. The move raises fresh questions about frontier AI, cybersecurity, and how governments may limit access to powerful systems.
Anthropic made a very smart robot helper, and the US government said some foreign people should not be allowed to use it. It is like locking a powerful tool in a cabinet because officials worry it could be used the wrong way.
Analysis
What happened
Anthropic said it was instructed by US government agencies to stop all foreign nationals from accessing its newest AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5. The company said it received the order on Friday at 5:21pm and had to cut off access for everyone at short notice, including foreigners currently in the US and some of its own employees.
Why the government may have acted
The article says Anthropic’s Mythos technology is unusually strong at finding software vulnerabilities, including flaws that can remain hidden for years. That capability has already been used by US authorities and selected companies to improve security, but Anthropic said it has long worried the same tool could be turned into a cyberweapon.
Anthropic’s response
Anthropic said the government did not fully explain the specific security concern. It also said it reviewed a report that it believes likely led to the order, and that its experts saw it as describing only a limited ability to review code and fix errors. The company argued that other AI systems, including a rival OpenAI model, can do similar work, and said it disagreed that software used by hundreds of millions of people should be blocked on that basis.
Bigger context
Fable 5, released just this week, is built on Mythos technology but has some cybersecurity and biotechnology features disabled. Mythos 5, the non-public version, is meant to remain available only to government agencies and select corporate partners for system hardening. The episode comes days after Anthropic publicly argued that leading AI companies may need to slow or temporarily pause development of advanced systems if risks keep rising.
Key points
- Anthropic says the US government ordered it to block foreign nationals from accessing its newest AI models.
- The restriction also affects foreigners currently in the US, including some Anthropic workers.
- Anthropic said the government did not fully explain the specific security concern.
- The company says its models are useful for finding software flaws, but could be dangerous in the wrong hands.
- Anthropic recently urged caution and even a possible pause in advanced AI development.
If the order is based on real security risks, it could reduce the chance that a powerful AI model is misused for hacking. It may also push companies and governments to be more careful about who can access frontier AI systems and how those systems are tested.
The ban could make access to advanced AI more uneven and deepen tensions around national security and technology control. If the government’s concern is vague or overly broad, it could also set a precedent for restricting useful software without clear public explanation.
