Anthropic releases AI model with weaker cyber skills than Mythos

Anthropic PBC is introducing an updated version of its most powerful, widely available AI model, barely a week after it limited the release of a more advanced offering called Mythos.

Anthropic said Thursday that Opus 4.7 is meant to be better at software engineering, including fielding some of the hardest coding tasks that previously required greater supervision. The company said it follows a user's instructions much better than previous models and can inspect higher-resolution images, making it possible to do things like identify details in complicated charts or pictures.

However, the new model is less broadly capable than Mythos, including for cybersecurity uses, Anthropic said. During the training process for Opus 4.7, Anthropic went so far as to experiment with ways to "differentially reduce" the model's cyber capabilities, according to a company blog post.

Last week, Anthropic warned that its Mythos system was able to identify and then exploit vulnerabilities "in every major operating system and every major web browser when directed by a user to do so." The company decided to only make a version of the model available to select businesses to help them safeguard their software.

"We are releasing Opus 4.7 with safeguards that automatically detect and block requests that indicate prohibited or high-risk cybersecurity uses," the company said in the blog post. "What we learn from the real-world deployment of these safeguards will help us work towards our eventual goal of a broad release of Mythos-class models."

The Claude maker is locked in a heated rivalry with OpenAI to deploy better artificial intelligence models and convince more business customers to pay for them. In recent months, Anthropic has seen strong momentum for its AI coding offerings as well as growing traction with consumers amid a standoff with the Pentagon over AI safeguards.

Anthropic was most recently valued at $380 billion. The company is now fielding offers from investors for a new round of funding that could value it at about $800 billion or higher.