The US government’s decision to abruptly suspend foreign access to Anthropic’s most advanced AI models, Mythos 5 and Fable 5, may prove to be one of the defining technology policy moments of this decade. 

Just two weeks earlier, India had reportedly secured access to Mythos-class models through Project Glasswing, Anthropic’s cybersecurity initiative, after sustained lobbying. While details of the exact model that was made available are not public, this access was meant to be narrow and specific, intended only for defensive protection of critical digital infrastructure. The EU’s cybersecurity agency ENISA and other institutional partners across a host of countries were also granted access. But none of that mattered. What the Friday order shows is that even carefully negotiated and tightly restricted access can be wiped out overnight. 

This begs a question: If technology cannot even be shared with countries that are close allies, what are those relationships actually worth, and what would happen if geopolitical interests were actually to diverge?

For years, concerns about technological dependence were brushed aside as protectionist anxiety. The assumption was that in an interconnected world, access to frontier technology would flow through open markets. Unfortunately, that assumption has now come undone, and the consequences will extend well beyond geopolitics.

The episode also carries a cautionary lesson for American tech companies. A firm that complies with the law at home risks becoming unreliable........

© Indian Express