The UK government is in active talks with Anthropic about rolling out its powerful Claude Mythos AI model to British businesses, with banks and financial institutions seeking expedited access to strengthen cyber defenses. The UK is the only non-US government to receive a preview of the model through its AI Security Institute, which found Mythos can exploit vulnerabilities "that would take human professionals days of work."

Anthropic has deployed Mythos gradually to approximately 40 organisations, almost exclusively American, including Amazon, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley. The model's ability to detect cybersecurity flaws faster than humans has stoked fears it could generate "exploits" that bad actors might use maliciously. German central bank chief Joachim Nagel warned this week that Mythos represents a "double-edged sword" and called for all institutions to have access to ensure a level playing field.

JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon privately cautioned UK banking executives to tread carefully with the tool and deploy it in coordination with government. UK ministers Liz Kendall and Dan Jarvis urged businesses to fortify cyber defenses, noting "AI cyber capabilities are accelerating even faster than previously envisaged." The Bank of England and UK Finance convened major British banks, insurers and exchanges this week to discuss the risks.