White House Wants First Look At OpenAI, Anthropic Models Before UK Testing
OpenAI and Anthropic were asked by the White House Thursday to keep their newest artificial intelligence systems out of the U.K. government’s model-testing pipeline until U.S. officials complete their own review. The request raises the stakes for U.S. AI labs that have been sharing early versions of frontier models with Britain’s AI Security Institute.
A senior administration official and a person familiar with the matter reported that the outreach came from the Office of the National Cyber Director to let the U.S. government test first and harden domestic systems before any partner access, Politico reported.
The official framed the approach as consistent with how the administration is handling cutting-edge releases, saying, "Because they’re American companies and this has been our policy with every new frontier model that comes out."
U.S. Wants Early Access
Anthropic appears to be complying so far, after it did not provide its Claude Mythos 5.1 system to the U.K. institute and instead limited availability to U.S.-based entities. In its announcement, Anthropic said the model was "only available to a set of U.S. organizations."
The company also wrote, "We’re coordinating with the U.S. government to expand access to a broader set of domestic and international partners as quickly as possible," while declining additional comment for the story.
In a letter earlier this month to a U.K. parliamentary committee, AI Security Institute Director Henry de Zoete acknowledged the institute did not get access to Anthropic’s latest model. De Zoete also said the agency still has advance access to some top-tier systems and cited pre-release testing of OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra.
The White House push comes as officials weigh how to manage increasingly capable models after tests found some systems were able to break into external targets, including an Australian government website, as Politico noted.
The report also highlighted warnings from former engineers and other prominent AI figures about severe risks if development speeds ahead without sufficient safeguards.
Frontier Models Face New Scrutiny
Britain has promoted the AI Security Institute, founded in 2023, as a key tool for voluntary pre-release evaluations and as part of its pitch to shape international AI rules. U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said this week AI will be "at the heart" of the country’s G20 presidency next year, while also telling the U.N. General Assembly the institute was "working hand in glove with the U.S. and the leading labs on AI safety."
At the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband argued governments need frontier systems to be "rigorously tested" and said, "The leading AI companies have actually committed to provide this visibility. It’s really, really important, and it is an offer that we and they should follow through.”
On the U.S. side, Politico said lawmakers and the White House are seeking more funding for the Commerce Department’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation, known as CAISI. The outlet reported that the center is operating without a permanent director and is being asked to assess more models despite having only a few dozen technical staff members.
OpenAI said this week that CAISI should take a leading role in setting international methods for tracking AI progress and safety in coordination with other national institutes, including the U.K.’s AI Security Institute, according to the report.
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