'It would be insane' for spy agencies to not have AI model early access, lawmaker says

"“Making sure that, in particular, where our real computational brains are, the National Security Agency, making sure they have access to the most capable hacking tools ... it would be insane not to do that, right?” he said."

"The NSA, the spy community's premiere hacking, codebreaking and foreign eavesdropping giant, has been testing Mythos, a major Anthropic model that's been held back from full public release due to its substantial cyber capabilities, multiple people familiar with the matter said."

"On Monday, The Washington Post reported the Trump administration is split over whether to give spy agencies or the Commerce Department dibs at evaluating models. Commerce officials are pushing back against a White House proposal to house an AI evaluation center within the intelligence community, according to the report."

"Himes said the Commerce Department should also have a role to play in AI policy. “Across the government, we should be looking at these capabilities,” he said, adding that “we ought to be cultivating - not damaging - our relationship with the producer of this remarkable new technology,” in a nod to the ongoing legal complaints Anthropic has lodged at the Defense Department, which deemed it a supply chain risk earlier this year after the company s"

U.S. Rep. Jim Himes said it would be “insane” for intelligence agencies not to have early access to advanced AI models that could support hacking and cyberdefense. He emphasized that the National Security Agency should have access to the most capable hacking tools. He noted the NSA has been testing Mythos, an Anthropic model withheld from full public release due to substantial cyber capabilities. Himes’ remarks came amid reports that the Trump administration is considering a major AI executive order and debating whether the Commerce Department or the intelligence community should oversee AI model evaluations. He also said Commerce should play a role in AI policy and urged cultivating relationships with AI producers.

Read at Nextgov.com