Anthropic Using ‘Fear-Based Marketing’ to Promote Claude Mythos: Sam Altman

In brief

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has suggested that rival firm Anthropic is using "fear-based marketing" to promote its Claude Mythos model.
• Claude Mythos has shown unprecedented ability to find software vulnerabilities.
• Governments and researchers have warned of both defensive and offensive risks involving Mythos.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pushed back against growing alarm over rival Anthropic’s powerful new AI model Claude Mythos, suggesting the company is using “fear” to market the product.

Speaking on the Core Memory podcast hosted by tech journalist Ashlee Vance, Altman argued that the use of “fear-based marketing” was geared towards keeping AI in the hands of a “smaller group of people.”

“You can justify that in a lot of different ways, and some of it’s real, like there are going to be legitimate safety concerns," Altman said.

“But if what you want is like 'we need control of AI, just us, because we’re the trustworthy people', I think fear-based marketing is probably the most effective way to justify that."

Altman added that while there are valid concerns about AI safety, "it is clearly incredible marketing to say: 'We have built a bomb. We are about to drop it on your head. We will sell you a bomb shelter for $100 million. You need it to run across all your stuff, but only if we pick you as a customer.'"

He noted that it was “not always easy” to balance AI’s new capabilities with OpenAI’s belief that the technology should be accessible.

Anthropic’s Claude Mythos

Anthropic’s Claude Mythos model, revealed last month, has drawn intense attention from researchers, governments and the cybersecurity industry, particularly after testing suggested it can autonomously identify software vulnerabilities and execute complex cyber operations. The model is being distributed only to a limited set of organizations through a restricted program.

The rollout reflects a broader divide in the AI industry over how powerful systems should be deployed, with some companies emphasizing controlled access and others arguing for wider distribution to accelerate innovation and understanding of the technology.

Mythos has become a focal point in that debate. The model’s capabilities have been framed by Anthropic as both a defensive breakthrough—allowing faster detection of critical software flaws—and a potential offensive risk if misused. Early this month, it identified hundreds of vulnerabilities in Mozilla’s Firefox browser during testing and has also demonstrated the ability to carry out multi-stage cyberattack simulations.