Anthropic's latest AI model 'Fable' was so powerful the US government banned the world from it

The US government has banned the use of Anthropic's latest AI models, Fable and Mythos 5, forcing the company to disable access effective immediately.

Only a matter of days after Anthropic released Fable, the company's first publicly released Mythos-level model, which is a cut-down version of the original Mythos model that Anthropic said couldn't be released to the public due to the number of cybersecurity vulnerabilities it detected, which could be used nefariously if placed in the wrong hands. Fable is a somewhat cut-down version of that original model, including safety guardrails that prevent users from using the model on topics and along specific lines of conversation.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Friday sent a letter to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei informing him that Mythos 5 and Fable 5 models will now be subject to export controls to any location outside of the US, and to all foreign persons within the US. Essentially, the US government has banned the use of Mythos 5 and Fable 5 models by anyone who isn't an American living in the US.

The administration told Axios that the decision to ban Anthropic's latest models came after the company claimed it had jailbroken Mythos, raising national security concerns. Additionally, officials said the model needs to be locked down until the US national security apparatus is hardened, with Axios reporting that "could happen in the next few weeks".

Furthermore, the letter to Anthropic's CEO states that a license will now be required for the exportation, re-export, or domestic transfer of Anthropic AI models, and that failing to comply with the new policy will result in financial and civil penalties.