Anthropic's Model Shutdown Sparks Global Doubts on US AI Reliance

The US government requested that Anthropic take its latest and most powerful AI models—Fable 5 and Mythos 5—offline over the weekend, blocking access to foreign nationals, including its own employees. The move was sudden and unexplained, serving as a reminder that the US not only dominates frontier AI but also controls who can use it.

In the UK, AI and online safety minister Kanishka Narayan indirectly referenced the incident, arguing that Britain must develop its own AI capacity for national security. He called AI "the central political question of our time" and stressed the need to decide how it shapes the economy and sovereignty before others decide.

In France, former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, a presidential candidate, called the shutdown the start of "the AI war," comparing it to Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. He warned that France is vulnerable if it relies on others for critical technologies. French media reported similar alarm across the political spectrum.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the situation highlights the risks of overreliance on a single partner for crucial resources like AI. He called for diversification to avoid future problems.

Many countries are already developing their own AI. China has long supported domestic AI firms, and its models can rival US ones, though they lag in some areas. Not all nations can match the scale of US or Chinese labs, but France's Mistral and Canada's Cohere show that solid efforts are possible. Singapore and the UAE focus on infrastructure and models tailored to local languages.

While Anthropic may soon restore access, rebuilding trust in American AI may be harder. The shutdown revealed how fragile access to US frontier AI is, and many governments are determined to ensure it never happens again.