On April 18, Reuters reported that on Friday local time, the Trump administration discussed the possibility of cooperation with Dario Amodei, CEO of AI company Anthropic. This is the first such contact between the two parties since a dispute between the US Department of Defense and Anthropic earlier this year over how its models should be used.
Amodei discusses cooperation at the White House
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles also attended the meeting, according to people familiar with the matter. The meeting between White House officials and Amodei comes amid growing concerns that the AI startup's latest model, Mythos, could significantly facilitate cyberattacks and suggests the two sides may be on the road to rebuilding trust.
The White House said Friday's meeting with Anthropic CEO Amodei was "productive and constructive." Now, the Trump administration is looking to make the company's powerful new model, the Mythos, more widely available. The White House said the two sides discussed cooperation opportunities and addressing the challenges posed by AI, and planned to continue dialogue with Anthropic and other AI companies.
Anthropic said in a statement that "this meeting demonstrates Anthropic's continued commitment to working with the U.S. government on developing responsible AI." The statement also noted that Amodei participated in relevant discussions.
Friday's discussion could lay the groundwork for major U.S. federal agencies to eventually begin using Mythos. Gregory Barbaccia, the federal chief information officer for the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), said in an email on Tuesday that OMB is establishing relevant protection mechanisms so that agencies can start using this tightly controlled AI tool.
According to CNBC, when asked about Amodei's visit to the White House, U.S. President Trump first asked: "Who?" and then said "I don't know."