Australia joins exclusive club granting access to advanced AI

The use of a powerful AI model has been limited by the US company due to its cybersecurity capabilities. (Reuters: Dado Ruvic)

The Australian government and several private companies have gained access to a powerful artificial intelligence model not released publicly due to its cybersecurity risk.

Anthropic has granted 150 organisations across 15 countries, including Australia, access to its Claude Mythos Preview as part of the expansion of its Project Glasswing.

Independent MP Kate Chaney is calling on the government to step up its response to AI amid concerns Australia is not preparing fast enough for the opportunities or risks.

Australia has gained access to a highly advanced artificial intelligence system deemed too dangerous for public release, as the federal government is urged to speed up its response to the risks and opportunities of AI.

Several private companies and the government are among 150 additional organisations across 15 countries granted use of Anthropic's Claude Mythos Preview AI model, which the US company has not made widely available due to its cybersecurity capabilities.

Australia's inclusion in Anthropic's "Project Glasswing" on Wednesday was welcomed by the nation's cyber security agency, but the government has declined to confirm any specifics around its Mythos access.

Labor is also facing calls from an independent MP to step up its efforts to keep pace with the rapid AI advances impacting the economy, workplaces and national security.

A new report concludes the AI-fuelled surge of power-hungry data centres across Australia is jeopardising the country's energy transition.

Mythos is a powerful AI model able to identify software and network flaws that would pose a significant cybersecurity risk in the wrong hands.

As a result, Anthropic has previously only released access to a preview of Mythos to the UK and US governments as well as about 50 American companies in an effort to help these organisations identify and address any cyber weaknesses.

The expansion of Project Glasswing is understood to include members of the NATO military alliance and European Union, with Anthropic confirming in a statement the organisations offered access to Mythos included critical industries like energy, water, healthcare and communication operators.

"Many of the new partners are vendors — companies or non-profits that maintain codebases that are relied upon by lots of other organisations around the world, including governments," the Anthropic statement said.

"What each partner has in common is that a successful attack on their codebase co