White House tells OpenAI and Anthropic to hold new models back from UK testers until US review
Politico's Sophia Cai reported exclusively that the White House has asked OpenAI and Anthropic not to share new frontier models with the UK government's testing body, UKAISI/AISI, before they have been tested by the US government. A senior official said the policy applies to every new frontier model "because they're American companies." The preferred sequencing is US review first, then access for the UK. The move came amid US-UK negotiations on frontier-model cooperation, showing Washington asserting control over frontier-model safety assessment and exposing a rift in the allies' AI safety arrangements.
Confirmed
- Politico report: OpenAI and Anthropic asked to hold back new models from UK testers until they pass US safety review
- A senior official confirmed the policy covers all new frontier models, on the grounds that "they're American companies"
- The UK body is UKAISI/AISI; the White House wants US review first, then UK access
- First reported by Politico's Sophia Cai (a repost also credits danbloom1), then widely circulated
Why it matters
- It reshapes prior US-UK cooperation on frontier-model safety testing: even Five Eyes allies must clear US review before access
- @tarantulae commented that "communications with China seem to be going well," suggesting a geopolitical dimension
- Former AISI employee @KeeganMcB (Keegan McBride) cited the report and reiterated a judgment he made two weeks earlier
- @connoraxiotes framed it as another blow to UK efforts to push global AI safety agreements
2026-09-25 ~ 2026-09-26 · 8 related posts
Primary sources
- White House asks OpenAI and Anthropic to withhold new models from UK testers — Polymarket · 2026-09-25
- White House tells OpenAI and Anthropic to run US testing before sharing models with UK agency — david_stillwell · 2026-09-25
- [source] White House asked OpenAI and Anthropic to withhold new models from UK, Politico reports — tarantulae · 2026-09-25
5 near-duplicate retellings: NathanpmYoung · KeeganMcB · dioscuri · connoraxiotes · TinfoilTricorn