Sam Altman throws shade at Anthropic’s cyber model, Mythos: ‘fear-based marketing’

In a recent podcast discussion, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took a sharp jab at competitor Anthropic, specifically targeting their newly launched cybersecurity model, Mythos. Altman suggested that Anthropic is employing fear-based tactics to inflate the perceived capabilities of their product. Mythos was unveiled earlier this month and is currently available to a limited group of enterprise clients. Anthropic has claimed that the model possesses significant power, which is why they have refrained from releasing it to the broader public, citing concerns over potential misuse by cybercriminals. However, this narrative has drawn skepticism from various critics who argue that such warnings are exaggerated. During his appearance on the podcast "Core Memory," Altman stated that Anthropic’s approach could serve to keep advanced AI technology within a restricted circle. He remarked, "There are people in the world who, for a long time, have wanted to keep AI in the hands of a smaller group of people. You can justify that in a lot of different ways." He continued with a metaphor to illustrate his point, saying, "It is clearly incredible marketing to say, ‘We have built a bomb, we are about to drop it on your head. We will sell you a bomb shelter for $100 million.’" Altman also noted that fear-based marketing is not unique to Anthropic; it has become a common theme across the AI industry. The narrative surrounding AI's potential catastrophic consequences has not solely emerged from critics; it has also been perpetuated by those within the tech sector, including Altman himself. As the competition heats up in the AI landscape, the tactics employed by these companies are certainly worth scrutinizing.