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TWiT 1088: Model Not Available - Anthropic's Fable Shutdown & Apple's Siri Update
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The White House Forces Fable 5 Offline
At 14:00 · chapter starts 10:20
The story reaches its climax when Leo describes the Friday afternoon the model simply vanished. Politico's reporting provides the most detailed account: Trump personally called Amazon CEO Andy Jassy to ask whether Fable was safe; Amazon reportedly said they'd found a jailbreak, prompting White House alarm. Multiple tense calls followed between Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Treasury Secretary Bessent, Cyber Director Cairncross, and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. The administration said it tried to reach Amodei while he was at a 'wellness retreat' — a characterization Anthropic flatly denied, saying he was on calls within 90 minutes. The Commerce Department ultimately invoked export controls citing national security, banning use by foreign nationals, leaving Anthropic — whose own scientists include many non-citizens — with no option but to shut the model down. The White House gave 90 minutes with no details about the actual threat.
The Trump administration gave Anthropic only 90 minutes to take Fable 5 offline, with no details provided about the actual threat.
