80 pointsby jawiggins9 hours ago13 comments
  • tristanj7 hours ago
    The FT article has a lack of evidence of an actual operation. It claims Mythos is being used for "offensive cyber operations" in the first paragraph, but doesn't give a source supporting this claim. The lone piece of evidence given says Mythos "would be useful for" infiltrating China or Iran, which is a hypothetical, not evidence of an actual operation.

    None of that means the NSA isn't doing offensive work, my issue is that FT claims Mythos is involved in active foreign attacks based on a single anonymous source saying it "would be useful."

    • _alternator_7 hours ago
      Right, and zero non-anonymous sources. A person plausibly "close to Anthropic" or vaguely "with knowledge of the situation" using the stock phrase "the best defense is a good offense"... this is not a news article y'all. It's speculation.
  • maerF0x08 hours ago
    I am all about NSA using this stuff as "Defense" but my main concern is their long track record of unconstitutional warrantless, or abuse of shadow courts, to surveil the people they're supposed to be protecting, and for nefarious purposes like spying on ex girlfriends [1]

    [1] - https://www.reuters.com/article/world/uk/nsa-staff-used-spy-...

    • ninjalanternshk4 hours ago
      And most of that happened under comparatively good administrations. Imagine what’s been greenlit now.
    • applicative6 hours ago
      Wait til you hear about other countries, to say nothing of Silicon Valley.
    • cyanydeez7 hours ago
      dont worry, theyll also outspurce to capitalists to ensure all the paychopaths get a taste
      • cadamsdotcom7 hours ago
        You just typo’d the words “outspurce” and “paychopaths” into existence =D

        Outspurce - to pay someone to do your (software) dirty work

        Paychopath - someone who goes against their ethics as soon as the price is right

        Two in one post. New record!

  • thrill8 hours ago
    That headline is doing a lot of heavy making-it-up summarization.
    • NewsaHackO8 hours ago
      Yeah, I honestly feel like some sources should be banned if they regularly editorialize titles like this. FT wants to sell subs by any means necessary, even if it means creating some clearly misleading titles to do so. By amplifying their reach and allowing posts like that only further incentivizes them to continue to do it.
  • diwank8 hours ago
    """ It remains unclear whether Anthropic’s engineers are assisting the NSA in active operations. However, one person close to the situation said Mythos would be useful for infiltrating the networks of nations such as China or Iran. """
    • keithnz8 hours ago
      seems they forgot to say "...and the networks of friendly nations / allies"
  • LarsKrimi6 hours ago
    This feels like a stupid idea, but it's not my tax money being wasted on it (yet).

    An AI being used for offensive purposes would be so easy to counter due to Brandolini's Law. A much simpler AI could probably easily create dumb honey pot systems that looked like real systems with holes in them to lead more advanced and expensive systems on a wild goose chase.

    Suddenly an AI creating security vulnerabilities is a core part of a future cyber defence strategy. Surely someone must be doing that already

  • john_strinlai8 hours ago
    while this article is frustratingly light on substance, it should be no surprise the nsa would use anything and everything that could give them an edge. of course they would test out mythos, chatgpt-cyber, etc.
    • selectedambient7 hours ago
      accurate and they probably had access already.
    • 7 hours ago
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  • sigmar7 hours ago
    Not unexpected. Is anyone tracking which episode we're on in the Pantheon timeline?
  • Computer08 hours ago
    The only relevant except: "The San Francisco-based company had installed about half a dozen staff within the NSA as so-called forward-deployed engineers to guide the use of the technology and customise models for specific applications, two people familiar with the arrangement said.

    It remains unclear whether Anthropic’s engineers are assisting the NSA in active operations. However, one person close to the situation said Mythos would be useful for infiltrating the networks of nations such as China or Iran.

    “The best way to build a good defence is to build a good attack,” said a person close to Anthropic, who argued that adversaries are probably building their own AI-driven offensive technology. “If [Mythos] is not used to build attack agents, adversaries will find a way to do it.”"

  • reducesuffering4 hours ago
    But HN told me it’s just a marketing stunt
  • aussieguy12345 hours ago
    I'd like to see Ukraine using it against Russia, if they're not doing it already.
  • maerF0x08 hours ago
    How to get past this paywall ?