Anthropic keeps Mythos and Fable AI models offline amid White House talks

In short: Anthropic has kept its Mythos 5 and Fable 5 AI models offline for two weeks while negotiating with the Trump administration over a US export control order.

What's going on

Anthropic took its “Mythos-class” AI models offline after a June 12 order from the Trump administration. The order told Anthropic to suspend access for “any foreign national” to Mythos 5 and Fable 5, citing security concerns.

“Foreign national” here means anyone who is not a US citizen. That includes people outside the US and also non-citizens who live in the US, even if they work at Anthropic. According to The Verge, Anthropic has concluded that keeping the models offline is its only option so far.

Anthropic sent executives to Washington, DC soon after the order and has been in talks for 14 days. This week, the company declined to comment multiple times and said there was no news to share. The Verge reports there is still no clear resolution, and it is not known when, or if, the models will return.

One reason for the standoff may be that there is no clear, established way to apply export controls to AI systems. Export controls are rules that limit what can be shared with other countries, often for national security. In simple terms, it is like the government putting certain technology on a “do not ship or share” list, but AI does not fit neatly into older checklists.

What to watch

If talks stay stuck, it could affect more than Anthropic. Other US AI companies could face similar restrictions, especially for powerful models that might be useful for both civilian and military purposes.

Source: The Verge AI