Yasin Gungor
19 June 2026•Update: 19 June 2026
US President Donald Trump said artificial intelligence (AI) could transform into a weapon if "improperly used," following an administration move to disable advanced models from the firm Anthropic.
“We have a situation with Anthropic, and we didn't like what they were doing,” Trump told Axios in an interview released Friday.
He said that a "competitor and a part owner" reported the company to federal officials, leading to an export control directive that forced the suspension of the "Fable 5" and "Mythos 5" systems to prevent potential "jailbreaking."
Trump said Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei acted "responsibly" once the government intervened. He emphasized that the risks of non-compliance are severe, saying "people get put in prison immediately for that.”
While describing AI technology as "bigger than the internet," the US president said the good sides of it "far outweighs the bad."
Although Trump said he would consider using the Defense Production Act to regulate the sector, he indicated that such aggressive measures would not be necessary if companies cooperate.
Asked if he views Anthropic and its CEO as a national security threat, Trump said: "Well, not now, but a week ago, maybe."
Anthropic said last week that the US government had issued an export control directive "to suspend all access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 by any foreign national," extending the restriction to the company's own employees.
The issued letter "did not provide specific details" of the exact national security concerns driving the decision, the company said.
In evaluating the security risks, the team reviewed a demonstration of a technique used "to identify a small number of previously known, minor vulnerabilities" but noted that these issues are "relatively simple."
