The United States shows a misanthropic attitude towards human artificial intelligence, ordering it to suspend the use of cutting-edge models by all foreigners

TOI Washington correspondent: The Trump administration on Friday suddenly ordered artificial intelligence company Anthropic to suspend all foreigners, including non-American employees working in the United States, from using its latest cutting-edge models – “Fable 5” and “Myth 5”, which may redefine the global artificial intelligence landscape. The directive, issued by authorities under U.S. export control rules on national security grounds, effectively forced Anthropic to pull the model for everyone overnight. The company, which like most tech companies employs many foreigners, including Indians, said it could not reliably distinguish between U.S. and foreign users fast enough to comply with the order.“The net effect of this order is that we must suddenly disable Fable 5 and Myth 5 for all customers to ensure compliance,” Anthropic said, while insisting it believed the government’s action stemmed from a “misunderstanding” and expressing hope that access could be restored.The incident marks a sharp escalation in Washington’s efforts to treat cutting-edge artificial intelligence capabilities the same way it treats advanced semiconductors — technologies whose distribution is controlled for their potential military value.At the center of the controversy is Mythos 5, a powerful cybersecurity-focused model that Anthropic had previously restricted to a select group of trustworthy organizations, including some in India, through a program called Project Glasswing. The model is designed to identify software vulnerabilities at a scale and speed beyond that of most human researchers, potentially helping governments and companies defend against cyberattacks. But the same capabilities that patch vulnerabilities can also help identify ways to exploit them.India only announced its participation in the Glass Wing program two weeks ago, an unusually important gesture given that New Delhi is not a formal treaty ally of the United States. It is the only major non-aligned country among 15 countries including Japan, Australia, Germany, Canada and South Korea. The decision was widely interpreted as a recognition of India’s vast software talent pool and growing strategic importance in the race for artificial intelligence.Such access now appears uncertain, alerting New Delhi to the risks of relying on foreign-controlled AI infrastructure and reinforcing calls for “sovereign AI.” Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu described the development in a social media post as proof that “technology is the ultimate weapon” and argued that “globalization is dead”. He urged Indian organizations to adopt smaller Indian and Chinese open source models, where appropriate, while deepening local research efforts.At the same time, the U.S. government order also has an ironic twist: It affects some of the people who helped build these systems. Anthropic employs a large number of Indian-origin engineers and researchers, including chief technology officer Rahul Patil (former CTO of Stripe). The company also maintains a presence in Bengaluru as part of its wider international expansion. Under the directive’s interpretation of “alien,” non-U.S. citizens within Anthropic could lose access to the models they helped develop.Anthropic strongly opposes the government’s action, arguing that the so-called security concerns surrounding Mythos involve narrow “jailbreak” scenarios and similar capabilities that public models already have. Company officials warn that if such findings become grounds for export restrictions, any cutting-edge AI models may not be widely available.Other AI companies are watching closely. Executives across the industry worry about the emergence of a fragmented AI ecosystem in which nationality determines access to the most powerful systems. This concern extends beyond China, the traditional focus of U.S. technology control, to America’s close partners in Europe, Japan, Australia, and India. Analysts say the long-term consequence could be the creation of a two-tier AI world: top models reserved for Americans, while others receive less powerful versions or lose access entirely. Paradoxically, such restrictions may enhance the influence of China, which, ironically for a so-called communist country, already provides open source access to its models. Beijing is investing heavily in local AI development precisely to avoid strategic dependence on foreign technology. If U.S. companies become unreliable suppliers of cutting-edge artificial intelligence, countries seeking technological independence may increasingly turn to China’s open-source model or accelerate domestic alternatives. For the average user, immediate interruptions may be limited. Anthropic said access to its other models was unaffected, while competing products from OpenAI and Google continued to function normally. The bigger story, however, is that AI is increasingly becoming a geopolitical asset rather than just a commercial product. For decades, software has effortlessly crossed borders. Cutting-edge AI probably won’t. For countries like India, the lesson is becoming hard to ignore: In the age of artificial intelligence, technological self-reliance may no longer be an aspiration. This may be a strategic necessity.