{"id":11273,"date":"2026-05-12T20:37:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T20:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/it-would-be-insane-for-spy-agencies-to-lack-early-access-to-ai-models-lawmaker-says\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T20:37:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T20:37:59","slug":"it-would-be-insane-for-spy-agencies-to-lack-early-access-to-ai-models-lawmaker-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/it-would-be-insane-for-spy-agencies-to-lack-early-access-to-ai-models-lawmaker-says\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It would be insane\u2019 for spy agencies to lack early access to AI models, lawmaker says"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It would be \u201cinsane\u201d for U.S. intelligence agencies to not have early access to advanced artificial intelligence models that could be used for hacking and cyberdefense, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee\u00a0said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., delivered his\u00a0remarks\u00a0on a panel at Politico\u2019s Security Summit\u00a0as the Trump administration is reportedly considering a major AI executive order and debating whether the Commerce Department or intelligence community should oversee evaluations of AI models. They also come as President Donald Trump makes a planned trip to China this week, where he is expected to discuss AI matters with Chinese President Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking sure that, in particular, where our real computational brains are, the National Security Agency, making sure they have access to the most capable hacking tools \u2026 it would be insane not to do that, right?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The NSA, the spy community\u2019s premiere hacking, codebreaking and foreign eavesdropping giant, has been testing Mythos, a major Anthropic model that\u2019s been held back from full public release due to its substantial cyber capabilities, multiple people familiar with the matter said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Monday, The Washington Post <\/em>reported\u00a0the Trump administration is split over whether to give spy agencies or the Commerce Department dibs at evaluating models. Commerce officials are pushing back against a White House proposal to house an AI evaluation center within the intelligence community, according to the report.<\/p>\n

Himes said the Commerce Department should also have a role to play in AI policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAcross the government, we should be looking at these capabilities,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cwe ought to be cultivating \u2014 not damaging \u2014 our relationship with the producer of this remarkable new technology,\u201d in a nod to the ongoing legal complaints Anthropic has lodged at the Defense Department, which deemed it a supply chain risk earlier this year after the company said it wouldn\u2019t meet certain Pentagon demands.<\/p>\n

Himes said he doesn\u2019t think the legal spat between the DOD and Anthropic has set back the intelligence community in the near term, though \u201cif this drags out, if [Defense Secretary] Pete Hegseth gets a bee in his bonnet about this and just decides to target because his ego is damaged \u2026 that will be a massive liability for United States national security.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officials are circulating draft policy documents with language clarifying the government\u2019s ability to use private sector tech without outside stipulations, Nextgov\/FCW<\/em> reported last week. It\u2019s not clear if the contracting language is part of a coming executive order or a separate policy initiative.<\/p>\n

The discussions highlight how the Trump administration is closely examining cyber threats brought on by advanced AI models and is looking to shift from a laissez-faire attitude\u00a0toward the AI sector to a more hands-on approach.\n\n<\/svg><\/p>\n<\/div>\n