You heard the news about this AI hacking beast called Mythos?

It's a bit scary to be honest. And what's reported to have happened with it in the last seven hours is even scarier.

It's basically a big AI-powered cyber-hacking machine. It can spot flaws in operating systems – in some tests, it is better at doing this than human hackers.

Central banks are worried. Retail banks are worried. Governments are worried. We should be, too.

Even Anthropic, which owns it, is worried. They haven't released it to the public.

In the wrong hands, it's that dangerous.

But what they did do was release it to a small group of big companies, including Google and Goldman Sachs, for testing.

The problem? Bloomberg is reporting that a small number of unauthorised users have gained access to it.

I know... ding ding ding... alarm bell time.

Hello, you had one job – keep this thing under wraps. If it's a good as they say it is, it's bad for the world.

It could mean more 'asymmetrical warfare'. That's where smaller actors with fewer resources than big powers are able to wage war and hold the world to ransom.

Think the Revolutionary Guard and the Strait of Hormuz.

In the wrong hands, this thing could do the same in cyberspace.

Hacks on hospitals, water supplies, energy infrastructure. All that important stuff that, you know, keeps society from falling apart.

What happens to the world when you only need a speedboat, a few drones, and an AI hacking app on your phone to bring the world to its knees?

This sounds overly dramatic, and that's because, well, it is.

And like most things on the internet, once the horse is out of the stables, she tends to bolt and run, and nobody can ever really catch up.

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Ryan Bridge: The terrifying news about Mythos AI