Fed Chair Jerome Powell, Treasury’s Bessent and top bank CEOs met over Anthropic’s Mythos model

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently held a closed-door meeting with top bank CEOs to address the cybersecurity risks associated with Anthropic’s latest AI model, Mythos. According to sources, the meeting, which took place at the Treasury Department’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., aimed to discuss the potential threats posed by Mythos and other AI models in the financial sector.

While JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon was invited to attend the meeting, he was unable to be present. The session, first reported by Bloomberg News, emphasized the urgency of addressing the risks posed by Mythos, a powerful AI model developed by Anthropic. The company, known for its generative AI chatbot Claude, announced a new project named Project Glasswing in collaboration with tech giants like Amazon, Apple, and Nvidia. The goal of the project is to leverage Mythos to enhance cybersecurity defenses in response to emerging threats.

Anthropic highlighted the advanced capabilities of Mythos, which have already identified vulnerabilities in major operating systems and web browsers. As a result, the company has decided not to widely release Mythos to prevent potential misuse by malicious actors. In a statement, Anthropic expressed concerns about the widespread proliferation of such AI capabilities and their implications for economies, public safety, and national security.

Project Glasswing is described as an urgent initiative to utilize Mythos for defensive purposes and mitigate the risks associated with advanced AI technologies. The Treasury Department, through a spokesperson, emphasized the importance of financial institutions preparing for new security threats and acknowledged the ongoing efforts by the White House to address AI security concerns.

In a separate development, the Biden Administration in 2023 recognized AI as a potential risk to financial stability, marking a significant shift in policy. This designation underscored the need for proactive measures to safeguard the financial system against emerging technological threats.

As the government and industry continue to grapple with the implications of AI advancements, coordination meetings led by the Treasury Department are planned to address these developments and other related issues. The Federal Reserve, while declining to comment on the specific meeting, remains vigilant in monitoring the potential impact of AI on the financial sector.

Edited by Alain Sherter, with contributions from Richard Escobedo.

For more updates and in-depth coverage, stay tuned to CBS News.