White House Chief of Staff to Meet with Anthropic CEO Over New AI Technology
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is scheduled to meet with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to discuss the artificial intelligence company's newly announced Mythos model. This high-level meeting underscores the federal government's growing interest in how advanced AI could reshape national security and the economy.
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the planned meeting on Friday. The official emphasized that the administration is actively engaging with leading AI laboratories to evaluate their models and assess software security protocols. According to the official, any new technology considered for federal use would undergo a rigorous technical evaluation period before implementation.
Ongoing Tensions Between Anthropic and the Trump Administration
This meeting occurs against a backdrop of heightened tensions between the Trump administration and Anthropic, a company known for its safety-first approach to AI development. Anthropic has consistently advocated for implementing guardrails in AI development to mitigate potential risks while maximizing economic and national security benefits for the United States.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump attempted to prohibit all federal agencies from using Anthropic's chatbot, Claude, citing a contract dispute with the Pentagon. In a February social media post, Trump declared the administration "will not do business with them again!"
In a further escalation, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to designate Anthropic as a supply chain risk—an unprecedented move against a domestic company. Anthropic has challenged this designation in two separate federal courts. The company has stated it seeks assurances that the Pentagon will not deploy its technology in fully autonomous weapons systems or for the surveillance of American citizens. Hegseth, however, has insisted that Anthropic must permit any uses the Pentagon deems lawful.
In March, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin issued a ruling that blocked enforcement of Trump's directive ordering federal agencies to cease using Anthropic products.
The Mythos Model: Capabilities and Concerns
Anthropic, based in San Francisco, announced its new Mythos model on April 7. The company describes the AI as "strikingly capable," so much so that it is restricting access to a select group of customers. According to Anthropic, Mythos demonstrates an ability to surpass human cybersecurity experts in identifying and exploiting computer vulnerabilities.
While some industry observers have questioned whether Anthropic's warnings about overly powerful AI are merely a marketing strategy, even some of the company's most vocal critics acknowledge that Mythos may represent a significant technological leap.
David Sacks, a former White House AI and cryptocurrency advisor and an influential critic of Anthropic, urged the public to take the developments seriously. "Anytime Anthropic is scaring people, you have to ask, 'Is this a tactic? Is this part of their Chicken Little routine? Or is it real?'" Sacks commented on the "All-In" podcast. "With cyber, I actually would give them credit in this case and say this is more on the real side."
Sacks elaborated, "It just makes sense that as the coding models become more and more capable, they are more capable at finding bugs. That means they're more capable at finding vulnerabilities. That means they're more capable at stringing together multiple vulnerabilities and creating an exploit."
International Scrutiny and Collaborative Initiatives
The potential benefits and risks of the Mythos model have attracted attention beyond U.S. borders. The United Kingdom's AI Security Institute has evaluated the new model, describing it as a "step up" from previous iterations, which were already advancing rapidly.
"Mythos Preview can exploit systems with weak security posture, and it is likely that more models with these capabilities will be developed," the institute noted in a recent report.
Furthermore, Anthropic has been in discussions with the European Union regarding its AI models, including advanced versions not yet released in Europe, as confirmed by European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier on Friday.
In conjunction with the Mythos announcement, Anthropic revealed the formation of Project Glasswing. This initiative aims to bring together technology giants such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft, alongside other major corporations like JPMorgan Chase. The project's goal is to secure the world's critical software infrastructure against potential "severe" fallout that advanced AI models like Mythos could pose to public safety, national security, and the global economy.
"We're releasing it to a subset of some of the world's most important companies and organizations so they can use this to find vulnerabilities," explained Anthropic co-founder and policy chief Jack Clark during the Semafor World Economy conference this week.
Clark added a note of caution, stating that while Mythos is currently ahead of the curve, it is not a unique phenomenon. "There will be other systems just like this in a few months from other companies, and in a year to a year-and-a-half later, there will be open-weight models from China that have these capabilities," he said. "So the world is going to have to get ready for more powerful systems that are going to exist within it."
Anthropic declined to comment on the specifics of the upcoming meeting between Wiles and Amodei. The scheduled discussion was first reported by Axios.
