Amazon expressed apprehensions regarding Anthropic AI models prior to the US crackdown, according to a source
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy was among tech leaders who expressed concerns to senior Trump administration officials this week regarding security risks in Anthropic’s most advanced AI models, according to a source familiar with the situation, as reported by Reuters.
Jassy’s involvement highlights the remarkable decision made by Anthropic on Friday to globally discontinue its latest models in response to national security orders issued by President Donald Trump’s administration.
The San Francisco-based AI startup, which has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering, had previously cautioned about the hacking capabilities of its Mythos model and withheld it from wide release. However, earlier this week, Anthropic launched a public version, named Fable, featuring what it characterized as cybersecurity safeguards.
That short release concluded on Friday. In a blog post, Anthropic stated that the U.S. government informed the company of its belief that there exists a method to bypass, or “jailbreak,” a safeguard designed to prevent the model from being used to identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
According to Anthropic’s blog post, the bypass identified only “minor” security flaws that can also be detected by other publicly available models.
The Trump administration directed Anthropic to prohibit any foreign nationals, regardless of their location, from accessing its newest models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, according to the company’s statement. In response, Anthropic announced that it would disable access to the models on a global scale.
Amazon did not confirm whether it engaged in discussions with government officials regarding Anthropic’s models. “As a leading cloud provider that serves a large number of private and public sector customers, it’s not uncommon for governments to seek our counsel on potential security risks,” an Amazon spokesperson stated. “When they happen, we do not disclose the specifics of these conversations.”
EXPORT CONTROLS
The Information, a technology news outlet, reported on Saturday Jassy’s concerns. The Information, referencing a U.S. official, subsequently reported that the administration was unlikely to impose restrictions on other AI firms akin to those applied to Anthropic.
Reuters was unable to promptly confirm the Trump administration’s intentions regarding the regulation of other companies.
The U.S. government imposed restrictions through an export control, as stated in Anthropic’s blog post. The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, responsible for overseeing export controls, did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment.
Officials issued the export control with hesitation after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei declined to address the jail break or remove the model, as noted by White House adviser David Sacks in a social media post on Saturday. Sacks, co-chair of Trump’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and a former AI czar at the White House, expressed that the administration’s hope is for Anthropic to resolve the safety issue, allowing the export control to be lifted and Fable to return to general release.
Some experts who support export controls on advanced AI models found the actions of the Trump administration perplexing, as they impact both allied nations and adversaries.
“This was not carefully considered,” said Jimmy Goodrich, a senior fellow at the University of California’s Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation. “It also prohibits Canadians and Brits working at Anthropic from engaging in research and development.”
The order arrived at a time when a prior disagreement between Trump administration officials and Anthropic appeared to be calming in certain areas of the U.S. government.
