China Sought Access to Anthropic’s Newest A.I. The Answer Was No.

China Sought Access to Anthropic’s Newest A.I. The Answer Was No.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/us/politics/china-ai-anthropic-openai-mythos-chatgpt.html

Publish Date: 2026-05-12 05:03:00

Source Domain: www.nytimes.com

Here are six key points summarizing the article:

– A Chinese think tank representative approached Anthropic officials during a private meeting in Singapore, urging the company to allow Beijing access to its new AI model, Mythos. Anthropic refused the request.

– This request represents a growing competition between China and the United States over artificial intelligence, which some officials view as akin to the Cold War’s nuclear arms race.

– The U.S. national security community is concerned that China will try to obtain access to U.S. AI models, which could improve China’s ability to launch large-scale cyberattacks.

– The latest AI models from Anthropic and Open AI have extended the technological lead of U.S. firms over China by approximately nine months to a year, alarming China.

– Both the U.S. and Chinese governments increasingly view AI companies as national assets and are restricting access to potentially powerful AI models to maintain technological superiority.

– The U.S. aims to keep its advanced AI models out of China’s reach while hoping that China will continue to face challenges accessing the most advanced chips used to run AI, according to former U.S. officials.