Commerce Department greenlights limited return of Anthropic's Mythos
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Anthropic CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei during an interview on "The Circuit with Emily Chang" at Anthropic's headquarters in April. Photo: Jason Henry/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Anthropic's most powerful models are back online on a limited basis after the company addressed risks that led the government to effectively shut them down, according to a letter from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to Anthropic, seen by Axios.
Why it matters: The abrupt removal of Mythos 5 and Fable 5 created uncertainty within the industry and among allies around the world whose cyber capabilities were stunted by the loss.
Inside the letter: Anthropic's engagement with the government has "yielded significant progress," the June 26 letter states.
- "In addition, Anthropic has committed to work with the U.S. government on protocols and standards and releases for the Covered Models," the letter states, without elaborating.
- The Commerce Department evaluated "diversion risks" presented in the models, and Lutnick determined that appropriate safeguards are in place.
- "Accordingly, a license will no longer be required to export, reexport, or in-country transfer (including deemed exports and reexports) the Claude Mythos 5 Model to entities identified in Annex A to this letter and their foreign national employees, or to Anthropic's foreign national employees," the letter states.
Between the lines: The government's June 12 order that prompted Anthropic to take down the models is part of ad hoc regulatory regime.
- Export controls remain in place for all organizations not explicitly approved by the administration, and the letter does not change restrictions on Fable 5.
- The loosening of restrictions on Anthropic comes after OpenAI's model was subjected to government reviews that the company said were not sustainable.
Meanwhile, in the letter, Lutnick made clear that he can change his mind: "I reserve the right to reevaluate and adjust the scope of license requirements on the Covered Models, should circumstances change," the letter states.
- Lutnick also reserved the right to change the list of entities that have access "at any time."
- Semafor first reported on the letter.
For the record: An Anthropic spokesperson told Axios that the company has received the notice and is now "working to provision the approved set of providers and restore their access to Mythos 5 as quickly as possible."
- "We are pleased to see this progress and continue to work with the government to expand access to Mythos 5 and make Fable 5 available for general use again," the spokesperson added.
Catch up quick: Lutnick slapped sweeping export controls on Anthropic after Amazon raised jailbreaking concerns, and the company failed to respond seriously, according to the administration.
- It's not clear how exactly those concerns were addressed.
What to watch: There's more regulatory uncertainty ahead, as an August deadline looms for implementation of a cybersecurity executive order. The order calls for federal agencies to create a formal process for assessing AI models' cyber capabilities.
- Anthropic has been in discussions with government officials about a formalized policy framework to address national security concerns before models are released, a source familiar with the talks said.
