The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly drawing the attention of governments worldwide, particularly in areas related to national security and economic stability. In the United States, the White House is stepping up its engagement with leading AI firms. A high-level meeting is expected between White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, to discuss the company’s newly unveiled AI system, Mythos.
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles plans to sound out Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei about the artificial intelligence company’s new Mythos model, which has attracted attention from the federal government for how it could transform national security and the economy.
According to a White House official, the administration is actively engaging with advanced AI developers to better understand their technologies and assess associated risks. The official noted that any potential deployment of such systems within federal agencies would require a detailed technical evaluation period.
The meeting comes amid strained relations between the administration of Donald Trump and Anthropic. The company has positioned itself as a safety-focused AI developer, advocating for strict guardrails to limit misuse while maximising benefits.
President Donald Trump tried to stop all federal agencies from using Anthropic’s chatbot Claude over the company’s contract dispute with the Pentagon, with Trump saying in a February social media post that the administration ”will not do business with them again!”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also sought to declare Anthropic a supply chain risk, an unprecedented move against a U.S. company that Anthropic has challenged in two federal courts.
The dispute centres on the company’s insistence that its technology should not be used for fully autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance. In contrast, the Pentagon maintains that AI tools must remain available for any lawful use.
US District Judge Rita Lin issued a ruling in March that blocked the enforcement of Trump’s social media directive ordering all federal agencies to stop using Anthropic products.
This decision has allowed continued engagement between the government and the company, even as policy disagreements persist.
The San Francisco-based Anthropic has said the new Mythos model it announced on April 7 is so “strikingly capable” that it is limiting its use to select customers because of its ability to surpass human cybersecurity experts in finding and exploiting computer vulnerabilities.
The company’s claims suggest that Mythos could significantly enhance cybersecurity testing but also raise concerns about misuse.
While some experts have questioned whether the claims are overstated, others believe the technology represents a meaningful leap forward.
David Sacks, a prominent critic of Anthropic and former White House AI and crypto czar, acknowledged the model’s potential impact.
“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 said on the “All-In” podcast, which he co-hosts with other tech investors. “With cyber, I actually would give them credit in this case and say this is more on the real side.”
Sacks said, “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.”
The model’s potential benefits, as well as its risks, have also attracted attention beyond the United States.
The United Kingdom’s AI Security Institute said it evaluated the new model and found it a “step up” over previous models, which were already rapidly improving.
“Mythos Preview can exploit systems with weak security posture, and it is likely that more models with these capabilities will be developed,” the institute said in a report.
Anthropic has also been in discussions with the European Union regarding its AI technologies, including advanced systems not yet launched in the region. These conversations highlight growing global regulatory interest in advanced AI models.
When it announced Mythos, Anthropic said it was also forming an initiative called Project Glasswing, bringing together major technology companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft, along with firms like JPMorgan Chase.
The goal is to strengthen global software systems against vulnerabilities that advanced AI models could expose.
“We’re releasing it to a subset of some of the world’s most important companies and organisations so they can use this to find vulnerabilities,” said the Anthropic co-founder and policy chief, Jack Clark, at this week’s Semafor World Economy conference.
Clark added that Mythos, while ahead of the curve, is not a “special model.”
“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.”
The upcoming meeting between the White House and Anthropic reflects the growing importance of AI governance in an era of rapid technological advancement. As models like Mythos push the boundaries of capability—especially in cybersecurity—their potential benefits are matched by significant risks. Governments, companies, and global institutions are now navigating a complex landscape where innovation must be balanced with safety, regulation, and ethical considerations. The outcome of such engagements could play a critical role in shaping the future of AI policy and deployment worldwide.