Anthropic’s AI model scare sparks urgent US warning to bank CEOs

NEW YORK – US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell summoned Wall Street leaders to an urgent meeting on concerns that the latest artificial intelligence model from Anthropic will usher in an era of greater cyberrisk.

Mr Bessent and Mr Powell assembled the group at the Treasury’s headquarters in Washington on April 7 to make sure banks are aware of possible future risks raised by Anthropic’s Mythos and potential similar models, and that they are taking precautions to defend their systems, according to people familiar with the matter.

A representative for the Treasury did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the Fed declined to comment.

The previously unreported meeting, arranged on short notice, is another sign that regulators consider the possibility of a new breed of cyberattacks to be one of the biggest risks facing the financial industry.

All the banks summoned to the meeting are classified as systemically important by top regulators, meaning their stability is a priority for the global financial system. 

Anthropic’s Mythos is a more powerful system that the AI firm says is capable of identifying and then exploiting vulnerabilities in every major operating system and web browser when directed by a user to do so.

Regulators’ caution about the power of the model in hackers’ hands echoes Anthropic’s own prudence. Anthropic has limited its release to just a few major technology and finance firms at first.

Those companies, which include Amazon.com and Apple as well as JPMorgan Chase & Co, are part of “Project Glasswing”, which will work to secure the most important systems before other similar AI models become available.

Anthropic has said that it has been in discussions prior to its recent release with US officials about Mythos and its “offensive and defensive cyber capabilities”. 

Chief executives summoned to the meeting with the Fed and Treasury include Citigroup’s Ms Jane Fraser, Morgan Stanley’s Mr Ted Pick, Bank of America’s Mr Brian Moynihan, Wells Fargo & Co’s Mr Charlie Scharf, and Goldman Sachs Group’s Mr David Solomon, said the people. JPMorgan’s Mr Jamie Dimon was unable to attend, the people said.

Spokespersons for the banks declined to comment. A representative for Anthropic had no immediate comment.

Anthropic has separately been battling the Trump administration in court. The Pentagon had labelled the company as a supply-chain risk, a designation that Anthropic has opposed. Earlier this week, a federal appeals court declined, at least for now, Anthropic’s request that it put a pause to the Pentagon’s designation. BLOOMBERG