Trump's Anthropic shutdown just made the case for non-American AI
At Washington's request, Anthropic suddenly took its newest and most powerful AI models offline over the weekend. The American company said it had little choice after the White House demanded it block access for all foreign nationals, including its own employees. Abroad, the incident offered a sobering reminder that the US not only dominates frontier AI - its government also wields power over who gets to use it.
Key Takeaways
- Anthropic may bring Fable and Mythos back online, but the shutdown fired up sovereign AI efforts around the world.
AI Policy Report Trump's Anthropic shutdown just made the case for non-American AI Anthropic may bring Fable and Mythos back online, but the shutdown fired up sovereign AI efforts around the world.
- The Trump administration's action was swift, sweeping, and imposed with little warning or explanation.
The unprecedented shutdown of the Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models - which were already subject to safeguards limiting their use in "high-risk areas" - that followed gave new force to long-running arguments cautioning against relying on the US for critical technologies.
- AI is "the central political question of our time," Narayan said, arguing that Britain must decide how the technology will shape its economy, security, and sovereignty "before someone else decides the answer for us.
" In France, the reaction was more explicit - and more forceful in naming the US.
- Attal is far from alone: Le Monde reported similar alarm from across France's political spectrum.
Related Anthropic cuts off Fable 5 and Mythos 5 access following government order Anthropic's Mythos breach was humiliating Claude Fable is too scared to teach you about the powerhouse of the cell The argument is not exactly new.
- Canada has drawn a similar lesson to Europe.
Anthropic may bring Fable and Mythos back online, but the shutdown fired up sovereign AI efforts around the world. AI Policy Report Trump's Anthropic shutdown just made the case for non-American AI Anthropic may bring Fable and Mythos back online, but the shutdown fired up sovereign AI efforts around the world. Anthropic may bring Fable and Mythos back online, but the shutdown fired up sovereign AI efforts around the world.
by Robert Hart Jun 15, 2026, 6:10 PM UTC Link Share Gift Image: Laura Normand / The Verge Part Of All the news about Anthropic's new AI fight with the White House see all updates Robert Hart is a London-based reporter at The Verge covering all things AI and a Senior Tarbell Fellow. Previously, he wrote about health, science and tech for Forbes . At Washington's request, Anthropic suddenly took its newest and most powerful AI models offline over the weekend.
The American company said it had little choice after the White House demanded it block access for all foreign nationals, including its own employees. Abroad, the incident offered a sobering reminder that the US not only dominates frontier AI - its government also wields power over who gets to use it. The Trump administration's action was swift, sweeping, and imposed with little warning or explanation.
For more details please read the original article at The Verge AI.
Continue Learning
Comments
Sign in to join the conversation