{"id":145977,"date":"2026-06-18T12:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T16:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=145977"},"modified":"2026-06-18T18:52:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T22:52:39","slug":"economist-leader-ai-has-granted-america-vast-new-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=145977","title":{"rendered":"(Economist Leader) AI has granted America vast new power"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The news is full of how an\u00a0ignominious peace deal with Iran<\/a>\u00a0exemplifies a decline in American power. That conclusion could hardly be more wrong. On June 12th the Trump administration ordered Anthropic to block foreigners from Fable and Mythos, its latest and most capable frontier\u00a0AI\u00a0<\/small>models. In an instant, everyone learned that the American government can decide who may use the world\u2019s most important technology. You don\u2019t get much more powerful than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The administration was responding to a supposed jailbreak for Fable, meaning a prompt that circumvents defences against uses such as hacking computers or making bioweapons. The chances are that it wanted Anthropic to switch off the models for everyone, and that targeting foreigners was a means to an end. Sure enough, that is what Anthropic did, while claiming that the concern about its model was overblown. The legal basis of the order remains unclear, and the ban seems unlikely to last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What matters, though, is the demonstration that global access to the best AI <\/small>may come down to a decision in the Oval Office. The administration showed in March that it is prepared to trample on the frontier AI<\/small> companies, when it designated Anthropic a \u201csupply-chain risk\u201d. Now it has shown that it is prepared to trample on users, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

America must decide how to wield this vast new power. The rest of the world must decide what to do about it. Even as it plans for an unreliable America in everything from defence to trade, it now has to cope with a new way of being captive to the world\u2019s biggest economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>

Even as the world plans for an unreliable America in everything from defence to trade, it now has to cope with America\u2019s dominance in AI https:\/\/t.co\/xrMSKZAFWb<\/a><\/p>— The Economist (@TheEconomist) June 18, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>