Anthropic ​earlier this month debuted Mythos, its most advanced AI model to date, equipped with sophisticated capabilities and designed for defensive cybersecurity tasks.

Mythos’s vast capabilities have sparked fears about the threat to traditional software security after the AI ‌startup said the preview had uncovered “thousands” of major vulnerabilities in “every major operating system and web browser.”

And while some industry experts have questioned whether Anthropic’s claims of too-powerful AI technology were a marketing ploy, even some of the company’s sharpest critics have suggested that Mythos might represent a further advancement in AI.

How was the model launched and who had access to it?

Anthropic has rolled out Claude Mythos Preview through a controlled initiative ​called “Project Glasswing,” granting access to tech majors including Amazon, ​Microsoft, Nvidia and Apple.

The company also extended access to a group of more than 40 additional organizations that build or maintain ​critical software infrastructure.

What are the concerns around mythos?

Experts warned that the ⁠model can identify and ⁠exploit previously unknown vulnerabilities faster than companies ‌can repair them.

Its advanced coding and autonomous capabilities could dramatically accelerate sophisticated cyberattacks, particularly in sectors such as banking that rely on complex, interconnected and often decades-old technology systems, they have said.

While debuting Mythos, Anthropic said the ⁠model’s ability to find software flaws at scale could, if misused, pose serious risks to economies, public safety and national security.

U.S. software stocks tumbled on April 9 after the ‌Mythos launch on April 7 reignited fears that AI advances could disrupt traditional firms.

What have regulators said about Mythos?

Global financial systems need to “come to grips” with the risks posed by rapid advances in artificial intelligence models like Mythos, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said earlier this month.

Mythos was discussed at a meeting last week of the Bank of Canada’s financial sector resiliency group, which includes representatives from the finance department and major Canadian banks. U.S. officials have reportedly convened similar roundtables.

Macklem told reporters during a call from the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings that there has been a fair amount of discussion about the model at the forum. He confirmed he spoke to Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell about the U.S. approach.

“I don’t think anybody knows the full implications at this point. That’s precisely what everybody’s trying to get to the bottom of,” Macklem said.

He said policy-makers and financial institutions are still in “early discussions” about what Mythos means for the integrity of the global financial system.

But Macklem emphasized that Mythos is not a one-off event and the nature of AI development means firms, regulators and policy-makers need to put plans in place to grapple with this rapidly evolving technology.

Whether it’s Mythos or another AI model, Macklem said, the ability of these new technologies to both expose and exploit vulnerabilities “puts a premium” on having strong cybersecurity protections in place.

“We’re going to need to come to grips with how we’re going to manage this on an ongoing basis,” he said. “The world’s moving quickly. We need to keep up.”

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Mythos is a “test case” for how governments prepare for and react to new technologies.

U.S., Britain, Germany all concerned

Meanwhile, the White House has held discussions with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei about Mythos, with ​officials saying they talked about collaboration, cybersecurity and balancing AI innovation with safety. The talks were held despite the ⁠Pentagon slapping a formal supply-chain risk designation on Anthropic.

The U.S. government is planning ⁠to make a version of Mythos available to major federal agencies, Bloomberg News ⁠has reported.

The model also raised alarm bells in Britain, with authorities holding talks with major banks and cybersecurity officials to assess possible risks.

Banks are in close contact with their European regulators regarding Mythos, Christian Sewing, president of the German banking ⁠association and CEO of Deutsche ‌Bank, said.

Are the concerns justified?

One influential Anthropic critic, David Sacks, who was the White House’s AI and crypto czar, said people should “take this seriously.”

“Anytime Anthropic is scaring people, you have to ask: ‘Is this a tactic? Is this part of their Chicken Little routine? Or is it real?'” Sacks said on the All-In podcast he co-hosts with other tech investors. “With cyber, I actually would give them credit in this case and say this is more on the real side.”

He said it “makes sense” that as the coding models become more capable, they’ll find more bugs, which means they’ll become more capable of finding vulnerabilities.

“That means they’re more capable at stringing together multiple vulnerabilities and creating an exploit,” he said.