THINKING ALOUD
·
SUBSCRIBERS

Anthropic risks shooting itself in the foot with Mythos

The AI firm might have bitten off more code than it can chew

    • Even the mere prospect of a leak will put Anthropic under unrelenting scrutiny over its fitness as a custodian of a system as powerful as Mythos, says the writer.
    • Even the mere prospect of a leak will put Anthropic under unrelenting scrutiny over its fitness as a custodian of a system as powerful as Mythos, says the writer. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
    Joyce Hooi
    Published Tue, Apr 28, 2026 · 07:00 AM

    ANTHROPIC might have drawn from the Greeks in naming its latest artificial intelligence model “Mythos”, but the AI company should take a page from Russian storytelling instead.

    Specifically, it should heed the “gun principle” established by the playwright Anton Chekhov, who wrote: “One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn’t going to go off. It’s wrong to make promises you don’t mean to keep.”

    Thanks to Chekhov, the average theatregoer expects that if a firearm appears in Act 1, it is fired by Act 2.

    Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.

    Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.