- Donald Trump no longer views AI firm Anthropic as a national security threat
- Concerns eased after talks between Anthropic leaders and US officials
- Commerce Department had restricted foreign access to Anthropic's AI models
US President Donald Trump said he no longer considers artificial intelligence company Anthropic or its chief executive, Dario Amodei, a national security threat, signalling a significant easing of tensions between the administration and the AI startup following recent regulatory action.
Speaking in an interview with The Axios, Trump acknowledged that his concerns had changed over the past week. "Well, not now, but a week ago, maybe," he said when asked whether he viewed Anthropic as a security risk, as per the Reuters.
The shift follows discussions between Anthropic's senior technical leadership and Trump administration officials over concerns that foreign actors could gain access to the company's most advanced AI systems, Fable 5 and Mythos 5. US officials were worried that people could find ways around the security protections built into Anthropic's AI models.
If that happened, bad actors might use the technology to discover weaknesses in software systems or misuse powerful AI features for harmful purposes. The dispute reached its peak on June 12 when the Commerce Department issued an emergency export-control directive requiring Anthropic to suspend foreign-national access to the advanced models, including access by some of its international employees.
In response, the company temporarily broadened restrictions while addressing compliance and security requirements. Trump praised Anthropic's response, saying Amodei acted "very quickly" and "responsibly" in implementing the administration's directives. The president's comments came days after a meeting with global leaders and technology executives, including Amodei, at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France, where Anthropic and Google DeepMind promoted the idea of a US-led international AI coalition, according to the Reuters.
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Regarding his authority under the DPA, Trump noted that restrictions on the company could be eased. He stopped short of ruling out future intervention, noting that emergency powers under the Defence Production Act remain available if necessary. "I have the power to use a lot of things," Trump said, while adding, "But I'm not sure I have to do that."
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