Commerce Ends Anthropic's Timeout

Anthropic's Fable 5 AI model is heading back online after a short but high-profile timeout from the US government, NBC News reports. The Commerce Department has cleared the system for public use starting Wednesday, weeks after forcing Anthropic to pull Fable 5 and its sibling Mythos 5 offline over fears hackers could sidestep built-in safeguards. Anthropic said Fable 5 would be available around the world Wednesday, DW reports.

In a letter to Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick cited the company's "close coordination" with officials and its agreement to keep working with the government on safety protocols and to flag any misuse. Mythos 5 was allowed back last week for about 100 vetted cybersecurity and infrastructure groups. The rapid clampdown—and reversal—has stoked debate over how Washington should police advanced AI as the US tries to maintain an edge over China. OpenAI's Sam Altman was among those questioning the government's move, the Guardian reports.