Anthropic’s new cybersecurity model could get it back in the government’s good graces
The Trump administration spent nearly two months battling AI company Anthropic. She called the company a “RADICAL LEFT-WAKED COMPANY” full of “left-wing weirdo jobs” and a threat to national security. But some of the ice could melt between the two, thanks to Anthropic’s new cybersecurity-focused model: Claude Mythos Preview.
Anthropic’s relationship with the Pentagon deteriorated rapidly in late February after the company refused to budge on two red lines: using its technology for domestic mass surveillance or lethal, fully autonomous weapons with no humans in the mix. Anthropic’s technology has been used extensively in the past by the DoD and it was the first company to have its models cleared to operate on classified military networks. The standoff resulted in public insults on social media, with Anthropic being categorized as a “supply chain risk,” the company filed a lawsuit challenging the designation and a temporary injunction ending its ban.
Anthropic recently attempted to regain the good graces of the US government, at least to some extent, with Mythos Preview. And judging by reports that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei attended a meeting at the White House on Friday, it could work. Anthropic confirmed the meeting on Friday. “Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met today with senior administration officials for a productive discussion on how Anthropic and the U.S. government can work together on key shared priorities such as cybersecurity, America’s lead in the AI race, and AI security,” said Anthropic spokesperson Max Young. “The meeting reflects Anthropic’s continued commitment to collaborating with the U.S. government on the development of responsible AI. We are grateful for their time and look forward to continuing these discussions.”
Mythos Preview was announced with great fanfare about its capabilities, including the ability to detect security issues in virtually all major web browsers and operating systems. Anthropic says the model is the most powerful yet and is currently only available through private access. It’s marketed as a way to flag high-stakes vulnerabilities in some of the most widely used internet infrastructure we have, so that companies like Apple, Nvidia, and JPMorgan Chase — which have already signed on to use it — can plug them before bad actors can exploit them. The publication of Mythos Preview has already reportedly triggered emergency meetings between US bank executives and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The Trump administration, too, appears to be taking note. In a statement about Mythos Preview, Anthropic wrote that it had already had “ongoing discussions with U.S. government officials regarding Claude Mythos Preview and its offensive and defensive cyber capabilities.” Earlier this month, when The edge When asked for more details, Dianne Penn, head of product management at Anthropic, confirmed that the company had “informed senior U.S. government officials about Mythos and what it can do,” and that the company is still “committed to working closely with all different levels of government.” The company declined to say who, exactly, had been informed.
Anthropic also reportedly recently hired Ballard Partners, a Trump-linked lobbying firm, inspiring more reports that a deal between Anthropic and the White House may be in the works.
Friday, Axios reported that Amodei was scheduled to meet with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles later today. Describing the reasons for the meeting, a source close to the negotiations said that “it would be completely irresponsible for the US government to deprive itself of the technological advances that the new model presents” and that “it would be a gift to China.” The outlet also reported that “parts of the U.S. intelligence community, as well as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA, part of Homeland Security)” are testing Mythos Preview, and that other departments and agencies are interested.
If the Amodei meeting opens discussions on further integration of Anthropic’s Claude into government use by agencies, it is possible that the DoD could also change its view of Claude accordingly. It would be a disappointing end to a bitter fight for national security — but it’s not the first time the administration has suddenly changed course.
