Anthropic's negotiations with Trump administration improve after CEO exits talks
What's the story
Anthropic, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) company, is making headway in its negotiations with the Trump administration. The talks are aimed at lifting a stringent export control order. The development comes after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei withdrew from the talks. According to WIRED, the discussions were initially not going well due to Amodei's involvement, but have improved since his exit from the talks.
Leadership change
Brown takes over talks from Amodei
With Amodei's exit, Tom Brown, another co-founder of Anthropic, has taken over the negotiations. An anonymous source involved in the talks told WIRED that "Tom Brown is not being a weirdo like Dario and can actually engage." Amodei was reportedly seen as hard to work with and, WIRED sources say, was not a good listener.
CEO's demeanor
How Amodei and Brown differ
Amodei has been known to "rant" and "cannot control his emotions," according to past reports. He has a natural queasy expression, a trumpet-like voice, and often waves his arms while speaking. He also tends to break eye contact and tilt his head toward the ground while talking. Brown, on the other hand, has a more personable communication style with an easy smile and steady voice.
Team effort
Who else is in the negotiation team?
Along with Brown, Sarah Heck, Anthropic's Head of Public Policy, is also part of the negotiation team. Her conversation style is enthusiastic yet disciplined and cautious. The duo is working hard to get the White House to approve the Claude Fable 5 AI model for general use again. This model is Anthropic's most advanced frontier offering available to consumers.
Model risks
Why was Claude Fable 5 restricted from export?
The Claude Fable 5 AI model, which Anthropic calls a "Mythos-class" model, was released with stripped capabilities to avoid potential cybersecurity threats. However, Amazon researchers reportedly warned the White House soon after its release that these safeguards could be bypassed easily. The White House was already concerned about possible misuse by bad actors with Chinese interests and issued an export control order about three days after Fable 5's launch.