White House wants US government review of OpenAI, Anthropic’s new AI models before UK access — Report

A senior US administration official reportedly said the White House wants to review the models and take steps to ensure US systems are secure before they are shared with American partners.

The White House has asked OpenAI and Anthropic not to share their newest artificial intelligence models with the UK government’s AI testing agency until the models have first undergone testing by the US government, Politico reported.

The request was reportedly made by the Office of the National Cyber Director. A senior US administration official, according to the news outlet, said the White House wants to review the models and take steps to ensure US systems are secure before they are shared with American partners.

“Because they’re American companies and this has been our policy with every new frontier model that comes out,” the official was quoted as saying.

Anthropic withholds latest model from UK

Anthropic appears to have followed the request so far. The company did not provide its Claude Mythos 5.1 model to the AISI, saying the model was “only available to a set of U.S. organizations.”

The development marks a change for the UK institute, which has built relationships with major AI developers and routinely tests advanced models before their public release on a voluntary basis.

AISI Director Henry de Zoete acknowledged the lack of access to Anthropic’s latest model in a letter to a UK parliamentary committee earlier this month.

However, he said the institute continued to have pre-release access to some of the world’s most capable AI models and noted that it had tested OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra before its release.

“The trusted relationships AISI holds enable us to test a range of models that represent industry-wide capability jumps,” de Zoete wrote.

AI cybersecurity concerns behind US review

The White House request comes as the Trump administration considers how to handle increasingly powerful frontier AI systems.

Recent testing has demonstrated that some advanced models can carry out sophisticated cyber activities, including hacking into external systems. An Australian government website was among the systems reportedly targeted during testing, adding to concerns over the potential security risks posed by increasingly capable AI.

The US administration's push for an initial domestic review could therefore reflect concerns about the security implications of giving foreign governments access to powerful models before US authorities have assessed them.

UK seeks to play down tensions

The development comes as the UK seeks to position itself as a leader in international AI safety and testing.

Created in 2023, the AISI has made access to frontier models and its testing expertise an important part of Britain's approach to AI safety. The UK has also promoted international cooperation on common AI safety principles and standards.

“These risks do not stop at national borders and no country can tackle them alone,” a UK government spokesperson reportedly said, adding that Britain would continue working with the US and other partners on testing advanced AI systems.

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