Anthropic ran a weeks-long roadshow on how powerful Mythos is. They pointed to the danger, their controls, the capabilities, and practically begged the world to be scared of it.
Simultaneously, the current US regime realized there was a way to demand fealty from the AI labs. If they're so dangerous, don't we need to see them first? That will cost you, obviously. Standard extortion from the government, at this moment in time.
The labs get their marketing; the white house gets its pseudo-bribe. I hope nobody involved is confused about how we ended up here.
Are you claiming there will be a fee?
Universities: https://www.npr.org/2026/01/29/nx-s1-5559293/trump-settlemen...
Companies: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/esg/extortionary-intel-stake-s...
Law firms: https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-law-firms--deals-wi...
Media: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/business/media/paramount-...
Why would AI companies be any different?
> Are you claiming there will be a fee?
I'd be more concerned with "your model can't be too woke" regulatory scenarios.
Honestly that's exactly where my mind went. We already see the current administration trying to censor free speech (e.g. Jimmy Kimmel, blocking/restricting press access to the White House unless you are pro-Trump).
I'm afraid of the potential to move in the direction of what we see in China where queries to LLMs referencing things like Tianenmen Square are censored (at best).
Cory Doctorow had an excellent thread yesterday that touches on this:
> You could be forgiven for assuming that this is just about reining in Wall Street greed, but that it isn't an especially political maneuver. That's not true: antitrust is the most consequentially political regulation (with the possible exception of regulations on elections). Every fascist power defeated in WWII relied on the backing of their national monopolists to take, hold and wield power. That's why the Marshall Plan technocrats who rewrote the laws of Europe, South Korea and Japan made sure to copy over US antitrust law onto those statute-books.
The well moneyed interests are getting everything they want, for the faintest little bribe. For showing the obsequiousness, for showing fealty to the regime.
The monopolization of power, allowing markets to en taken over by worse and worse foes of democracy, needs to be stopped. Needs to have some limit. The post talks about how:
> Under the Correcting Lapsed Enforcement in Antitrust Norms for Mergers (CLEAN Mergers) Act, any company that was acquired in a deal worth $10b or more will have to break up with its merger partner if it turns out that these mergers were "politically influenced."
https://bsky.app/profile/doctorow.pluralistic.net/post/3mkuk...
This is probably seen as a win for the Bostrom crowd and the more sane people in the middle. The issues to tackle are incompetence and corruption and that has little to do with AI.
With what competent staff?
Q: Does the government have the expertise, integrity, and credibility to regulate AI models? A: Color me sceptical.
