SAN FRANCISCO — Anthropic said on Friday it would abruptly disable access to its most advanced AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, for all users following a U.S. government order citing national security concerns.
The AI company received an export control directive from the U.S. Department of Commerce to suspend access to the models for all foreign nationals, whether inside or outside the United States, including foreign national employees of Anthropic. To comply, the company halted access globally.
The models, released publicly on June 9, were among Anthropic's most capable systems, noted for advancements in coding and reasoning capabilities. The government order came days later, on June 12, without providing specific details of the national security risks, according to the company.
"The net effect of this order is that we must abruptly disable Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all our customers to ensure compliance," Anthropic said in a statement.
The company indicated it understood the concern related to a potential method of "jailbreaking" Fable 5, though it disputed that the issue warranted such action, noting similar risks exist with other deployed models. Anthropic said it is complying with the directive while expressing concerns about the precedent.
The move represents a significant government intervention in commercial AI development. It affects users worldwide, including allies who had been testing the models for applications such as cybersecurity.
U.S. officials have not publicly detailed the specific threats. The Commerce Department confirmed the action, but further information on the underlying intelligence remains classified.
The decision has drawn reactions from international partners. Some European and U.K. officials expressed concerns about reliance on U.S. technology and potential disruptions to ongoing projects.
Anthropic, founded in 2021 and backed by investors including Amazon, has positioned itself as a leader in developing safe and reliable AI systems. The company continues to offer access to its earlier models.
As of Monday, access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 remained suspended. The company has not indicated a timeline for potential restoration, and the broader implications for AI export controls and international collaboration are under discussion.
