America’s control of two of the world’s most-popular frontier AI labs — Anthropic and OpenAI — hangs over NATO’s upcoming Ankara summit. The constant tussle over artificial intelligence (AI) technology between the United States and countries across Europe remains as President Donald Trump enters the annual NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara this week, scheduled for 7-8 July. Trump will attend the NATO summit with what is seen as a powerful leverage over Europe’s military alliance. The US currently has the world’s most advanced artificial intelligence technology and can decide which of its allies gets access.American AI companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI have recently announced several sophisticated AI models capable of finding and exploiting security flaws better than most human minds. These AI tools can be used to fortify cyber defense systems as well as to help adversaries launch cyberattacks at an unprecedented scale. Anthropic’s Claude Mythos reportedly surfaced vulnerabilities in classified US systems within hours during a government test. The AI models even prompted a rare warning from members of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance to global leaders to “swiftly” step up security against AI-powered cyber threats.However, these American AI companies, under instructions from the Trump administration, have heavily restricted access to their models due to concerns that the technology could be misappropriated to cause widespread destruction. In early June, the administration slapped export controls on Anthropic’s most cyber-capable models, Mythos and Fable, banning both foreign nationals as well as countries from using the technology. Meanwhile, the White House also stepped in to limit the rollout of OpenAI’s latest cutting-edge model to a small group of US companies it approved.This decision by the Trump administration to control who has access to American AI tools has reportedly not gone too well with its European allies. European nations, including Germany, have been clamoring for access to Anthropic Mythos since its announcement in April, but only a few countries, including the United Kingdom, were initially allowed to test the technology. Earlier this month, Anthropic expanded this partnership to 150 new organizations across 15 countries, including the European Union. However, European governments fear the push-and-pull tactic by the Trump government for these AI models. As with America’s software models, the danger of the US pulling a ‘Kill Switch’ any time persists.
Europe readying back-up plan with Helsing and Mistral
As these simmering concerns about AI technology cloud the NATO summit in Ankara, Europe is hedging by building its own capability, including the defence AI alliance between Helsing and Mistral. European tech leaders Helsing and Mistral formed a pact to build new military AI systems last year. The partnership brings together two of Europe’s top technology startups. Helsing, a defence tech firm based in Germany, was founded in 2021. Helsing develops software for weapons, vehicles, and military strategy. Its systems have been deployed in battlefield simulations, fighter jets, and drones in Ukraine. Mistral, meanwhile, is widely considered Europe’s closest competitor to OpenAI. The French startup has in the past few months become a favourite of investors across Europe.Helsing and Mistral aim to bring AI models into defence platforms. The startups said the integration will boost decision-making, understanding of environments, and communication with operators. The deal between Helsing and Mistral comes as anxieties around Russia’s imperial ambitions and Donald Trump’s threats to NATO have led military budgets to soar across the continent.