Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Ban on foreign access to Anthropic models highlights need for AI sovereignty
This photo illustration shows the logo of the AI assistant Claude Mythos, built by Anthropic, displayed on a smartphone's screen in Brussels, Wednesday. AFP-Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo
Korea urged to leverage chip value chain, develop foundation model
Anthropic's ban of foreign nationals' access to its most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models in response to a U.S. government order highlights how cutting-edge AI tools have effectively become strategic assets subject to government export controls, experts said Sunday.
With the Korean government and firms restricted from accessing those models, the move has reinforced calls for Korea to hedge against such risks through a more strategic approach and by strengthening its AI sovereignty.
Anthropic on Friday cut off foreign access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models, saying the U.S. government believes there is a method of bypassing a safeguard against using the model to find cybersecurity holes.
Mythos 5 is Anthropic's security-focused model designed to identify software vulnerabilities at an expert level, while Fable 5 is a safety-tuned version developed for broader public deployment.
The latest restrictions were imposed in the form of a U.S. export control measure, according to Anthropic. News website Semafor reported that the move was prompted by concerns that a China-linked group had gained access to the model.
Even before the latest restrictions, access to Mythos had been limited under Project Glasswing, a program that grants access only to vetted institutions due to concerns that the model's advanced capabilities could be used for malicious cybersecurity activities.
Anthropic's Project Glasswing / Captured from Anthropic website
Earlier this month, a small number of Korean organizations, including the Korea Internet & Security Agency, SK Telecom and Samsung Electronics, were granted access to the model through Project Glasswing. But the latest export control directive blocked their access as well.
An official at the Ministry of Science and ICT said the government is "currently verifying the facts and discussing possible responses under the coordination of the Office of National Security."
Experts said the restrictions demonstrate that advanced AI models are now being treated as strategic assets, much like semiconductors and advanced weapons systems, and are likely to face more stringent government oversight in the years ahead.
"The restrictions show that Washington views advanced AI as a military-grade strategic asset from the perspective of economic and national security," said Lim Jong-in, chair professor at the Korea University School of Cybersecurity.
"The message is that access will be granted only to trusted countries, and meeting that threshold will likely require extremely rigorous cybersecurity standards … Korea should first focus on addressing the issue from an economic security perspective by leveraging the strategic advantage it already holds in semiconductor manufacturing," he added.
“Ultimately, no advanced AI model can operate without semiconductors. Korea should capitalize on its strength in chip manufacturing to secure its position as a trusted partner and ensure continued access to cutting-edge AI technologies."
As high-performance AI models such as Mythos have come to pose potential risks to critical infrastructure, ranging from power grids to financial networks, the landscape of economic security is now evolving.
“The more powerful and influential an AI model becomes, the more likely it is to be subject to tighter export controls," an AI industry official said on condition of anonymity. "Just as semiconductors became a source of geopolitical leverage, countries that maintain technological leadership in AI will gain a strategic advantage. Companies will be forced to compete within that framework, making AI sovereignty all the more important."
Ha Jung-woo, former senior presidential secretary for AI policy and future planning, wrote on Facebook, “There have been concerns that the most advanced AI systems could eventually become subject to export controls."
He added, "As incidents like this can happen at any time, Korea should continue to pursue global cooperation while also securing its own capabilities to prepare for such scenarios."
Korea is currently pursuing a national AI foundation model project aimed at fostering the development of domestic AI models. However, questions remain over whether the selected models will be able to compete with global leaders.
Lim said replacing leading global models through the foundation model project will be an extremely difficult task, and the initiative should serve as a catalyst for nurturing the domestic AI industry and strengthening Korea's AI capabilities.