Anthropic model takedown fuels warning of ‘ad hoc’ AI regulation

Anthropic model takedown fuels warning of ‘ad hoc’ AI regulation

The White House is coming under fire for a directive prompting Anthropic to pull its latest models, and AI policy advocates warn the move signals the White House is taking an “ad hoc” approach to AI regulation. 

© Don Feria, AP Content Services for Anthropic file

Anthropic disabled access to its newest Fable and Mythos models Friday after receiving a federal export control order requiring it to block foreign nationals from using them. 

The rare move caught the tech industry by surprise and stoked concerns the directive could set a precedent for how much influence the government can have on AI development and release.   

“When ad hoc executive actions replace clear standards, America risks surrendering its lead in AI and allowing genuinely dangerous technology to be deployed,” said Brad Carson, president of Americans for Responsible Innovation, a nonprofit that has been a vocal advocate for stronger AI guardrails. 

 Anthropic revealed late Friday it had pulled its latest models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, just three days after their release. The models are both based on the Mythos model that the company initially opted not to release to the broader public amid concerns it could supercharge hacking capabilities.

Fable 5 was released to the public with safeguards in place meant to protect against uses the company considered dangerous, while a new version of Mythos was provided to a small group of cyber-defenders and infrastructure providers with fewer guardrails.  

Several outlets reported Amazon CEO Andy Jassy had reached out to the administration Thursday to flag concerns about a potential method of “jailbreaking,” or bypassing, the guardrails on Fable, prompting efforts to get the company to voluntarily pull the models.  

A source close to Anthropic said the Trump........

© The Hill