Anthropic Walks Back Policy That Could Have 'Sabotaged' AI Researchers Using Claude

Anthropic reversed a hidden safeguard in its new Claude Fable 5 model that quietly weakened the assistant when people asked it to help build competing AI systems. The restriction, disclosed in a single paragraph inside a 319-page system card, rerouted certain frontier research requests to a weaker model without telling the user. After AI researchers and policy analysts criticized the move within hours of the June 9, 2026 release, the company apologized and said it will make any such limits visible rather than silent.