The story goes like this: Anthropic has developed a new AI model with advanced capabilities. After careful consideration, the company decided not to make this model widely available due to concerns about potential misuse.
On Tuesday, Anthropic announced a preview version of this AI model. According to the company, it has capabilities that could significantly impact cybersecurity. While this represents progress, Anthropic also noted that there are important considerations regarding how such technology is deployed.
So, instead of broadly releasing this model as it would with other products, Anthropic decided to only give access to a small number of select companies. Anthropic calls this "Project Glasswing," an initiative to strengthen critical software infrastructure with the help of AI. The company also extended access to a group of over 40 additional organizations that "build or maintain critical software infrastructure."
In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Dianne Penn, Anthropic's head of research product management, said that the move came after a lot of "internal deliberation," and that it was about giving "a lot of cyber defenders a head start."
Meanwhile on X, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei wrote in a post, "Rather than release this preview to general availability, we're giving defenders early controlled access to help strengthen security before similar models become more widespread."
"There are important considerations in this approach, but if we manage it properly, there is a real opportunity to create a fundamentally more secure internet and world through responsible technology deployment," he added.
While this AI model preview has particular strengths, it's actually a general purpose model. But the company does not currently plan to make it broadly available; instead, it will try to figure out how it can safely deploy such models to everyone.